A Civil War
by skycloud86
Summary: An OC's point of view on Day Two of 24. Slightly AU-ish, obvious spoilers for Season Two.
1. A Family Matter

_**Author's Note - This story takes place on Day Two. Again, Alex Myers and CTU Chicago are my own characters, and most of the rest belong to Fox. You don't have to read the stories for Day One and the aftermath before reading this, but if you do, the Day One story is called "A Day In the Life Of Alex Myers" and the story dealing with the aftermath of Day One is called "The Wreckage Of Your Silent Reverie". In this story, I'm going to change the story more than I did with the one for Day One, because Alex needs something to do.**_

**Los Angeles, 8:00am**

Walking into CTU, Alex Myers was deep in thought. These thoughts were of a rather mundane nature, such as what he was going to do that night, it being a Saturday and Sunday a day off, and this pensive state would have lasted until he had reached his workstation if it he hadn't accidentally collided with a CTU employee. As he was bout to apologise, he didn't recognise the short woman he had bumped into.

"Hey, I'm sorry, that was my fault", he said to her. She shook her head and tried hard not to blush.

"That's OK, I'm just a little busy. I'm Paula, Paula Schaeffer", she replied, holding out her hand. Shaking it, Alex smiled at her.

"Hi Paula, I'm Alex Myers. You new around here?", he queried.

"Yeah, just started today. I don't want to sound too dorky, but it's been kind of an ambition of mine to work here", she stated, hoping that her attempts to deny all dorkiness had succeeded.

"You'll like it around here, Paula. Good luck", Alex replied, as they started to move back onto their respective paths. Alex watched as she walked quickly towards Tony Almeida and George Mason.

A few minutes later, Paula had left Tony and George, and was replaced by Michelle Dessler, who looked anxious. Handing Mason a piece of paper, they talked in hushed tones, as if the information was top secret, and as George went back to his office, Tony immediately sought answers from Michelle.

"They want Jack Bauer", she told him, his face failing to hide the shock.

"What? What do they want with Jack?", he asked. Jack had been inactive since the murder of his wife by Nina Myers just 18 months ago, and Tony wasn't sure if Jack was ready to come back to work or not, but deep down he knew that if NSA were asking specifically for Bauer, then it had to be something that he was an expert in. Wondering whether Jack's undying loyalty to his country would be able to overcome his grief at losing his wife, Tony shook his head, and felt that he had no choice.

Standing in the unrelenting Los Angeles sunshine, Jack Bauer looked nothing like the man he was a year and a half ago. His hair was unkempt and he was now sporting a scruffy blond beard, and it was obvious that he didn't really consider personal hygiene a priority. Climbing into his silver SUV, he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.

"Alex, we've received some information and it looks like we're going to need to bring Jack Bauer in", Tony stated, getting straight top the point. He recognised the look of shock on Alex's face that he himself had worn just minutes before.

"Need to bring Jack in? Is he even fit to work?", Alex enquired. He had last seen Jack a month ago, and from what he had seen, unless Jack had improved dramatically in a matter of weeks, he was in no state to come back to work.

"We got some intel from NSA, and they asked for him. Specifically", Tony replied. Like Alex, he had his reservations about bringing Jack Bauer back so soon, but both of them were secretly glad that Jack would be given this little push, and hoped that it would help him get back to his old self.

Jack was sat in his car, outside the home of Gary and Carla Matheson. His daughter, Kim, was their daughter's au pair, and he smiled as he watched Kim play with Megan in the front garden, as it reminded him of old memories of Teri playing with Kim. The blissful silence was broken by his cell.

"Bauer", he stated flatly. Even though he hadn't been a CTU agent for months, old habits died hard for people like Jack.

"Hello Mr Bauer, I'm from George Mason's office at CTU. They've requested your help, sir", the young woman's voice at the other end of the phone spoke in a soft tone.

"I don't work for CTU anymore, George knows that", Jack replied, slightly pissed at hearing from CTU. They had ruined his life, and his daughter's life, and now they wanted his help? Before the woman had a chance to answer, he told her that he was busy and hung up.

Kim noticed him as he walked up to the house, and she couldn't help but feel both happy and angry at seeing her father again. Asking Megan to play in the back garden, she looked at her father and smiled slightly.

"Dad, what are you doing here?", she queried. She really didn't want to speak to him, and part of her hoped that he felt the same way, at least for the time being.

"I just came by to say hello. I miss you, Kim", Jack replied, his eyes filled with pain as he looked at his daughter, the most precious person in the world to him.

"I miss you too, Dad, but every time I see you... I think of mom", Kim said, trying hard not to cry. She missed her mother terribly and the events of their final day together had badly affected her. She knew that her mother would never come back and she knew that she shouldn't blame her father for what happened, but it was the easier way to do things for her.

Thoughts of Teri had been stuck in Alex's mind for quite some time now, and he remembered the events of that terrible night. He felt so guilty for what had happened to Teri. Not only had they failed to look after her and keep her safe, it had been his own sister who had murdered her. He glanced over at the corridor down which Teri went to her untimely and unjust death, and wished that so many of the events of that day had just never happened.

Tony sighed as he put the phone down. He knew that Jack would be at home, but he also knew that Jack would not just forget about everything and come rushing back to CTU to help them.

Jack was lying on the sofa, his arms curled around a picture of his wife and daughter. His eyes were filled with tears and he felt so lonely without Teri, without Kim. As the phone rang again, he groaned to himself and expected yet another call from CTU. However, when he heard the word President, he was shook out of his depression and reluctantly picked up the phone.

Alex listened as Mason informed CTU of a major threat to Los Angeles, a nuclear threat. This was something much bigger than he had ever faced during his career as a CTU agent, and by looking around the office, he could see that everyone else pretty much felt the same way. He wondered if this was why they had wanted Jack so badly. Minutes later, it was as if a ghost had just walked into CTU. The ghost of Jack Bauer.

"Hey, Jack, good to see you", Tony greeted Jack, trying his best to sound friendly and encouraging to his friend and former colleague.

"Where's George?", Jack enquired, as he looked around the office, old memories flooding back. Memories of previous threats, of Jamey, of Nina, of Walsh. Memories of that damned day, and memories of the aftermath.

"He's in the conference room", Tony replied, as Jack moved towards the room.

As Jack entered the conference room, George couldn't help but smile a little and turned to the group of agents inside the room.

"Jack. Everyone, Jack Bauer", he introduced Jack to the room, relieved that he had the chance to do so. he knew that Jack would be a massive asset to CTU during the threat, and hoped that Jack could focus on the task at hand.

"What am I doing here, George?", Jack asked, making his displeasure known.

"There's a rogue nuclear weapon here in Los Angeles Jack. Intel says it's going off today", George explained.

"How good is the intel?", Jack enquired.

"Very good. NSA did the groundwork. They have high leads on regional cells that could be connected to today's attack", George stated and, almost as soon as he had finished talking, Jack turned and left the room quickly, with George following close behind. As Jack dialled a number on his cell phone, George called after him.

"Where ya going Jack? Jack!". Deciding to ignore George, Jack listened for Kim to respond.

"Hello?", Kim spoke, not knowing who was calling her.

"Honey, listen to me", Jack urged her.

"Dad, I told you, I'm not ready", Kim sighed as she replied to her father.

"Kim this is not about us......They called me back to CTU and gave me some information. Kim you have to leave Los Angeles now", Jack spoke, his voice beginning to show signs of fear and panic.

"Dad no, if you're going back to work fine but I don't want to hear it", Kim told him, almost ready to just hang up.

"Kim I'm not going back to work", was Jack's last sentence before Kim hung up. He tried to call her back, but got only her voice mail. As he walked towards the entrance quickly, Tony tried to stop him, but Jack was beginning to get angry. He was panicked and just wanted to make sure his daughter was safe, and couldn't care less what CTU thought or what CTU wanted from him.

"Listen Jack, the reason you were called in is because it's a background match. You're the only one who can run with this", Tony explained as he tried to keep up with Jack.

"I don't care. Look I trusted everyone at CTU to protect my wife and I lost her", Jack replied as he neared the door.

"I know Jack. I was there", Tony said. He was full of sympathy for Jack, but he knew just how much they needed Jack's help.

"I can't lose my daughter Tony. I'm sorry", Jack said sincerely as he left the building.

As he got back into his car, ready to go to the Matheson's house and pick up Kim, he noticed a young woman and her son walking by. Realising just how much was at stake, and just how many lives could be lost due to the nuke, he climbed back out of his car and slammed the door shut. Walking back into CTU, he spoke loudly and clearly, with determination clear in his voice.

"Here's the deal, I want Knoll or Grothy to pick up my daughter and take her a safe distance away", Jack stated, and Mason was more than happy to agree to this.

"Tell me about the regional cells", Jack asked, ready to get started. A part of him was glad to have the opportunity, whilst another part was asking himself if he was really up to the job.

"The most promising one is headed by Joseph Wald", Michelle told him, and Jack's attention was caught instantly by the mention of Wald.

"Yeah Wald's been linked to a terror group named Second Wave. You did time with him didn't you?", George explained.

Whilst Jack and George waited for the arrival of a witness by the name of Marshall Goren, Alex decided to talk to Jack.

"Hello Jack, it's good to see you again", he said.

"Good to see you again as well, Alex. Shame about the circumstances", Jack replied.

"You're making the right choice you know, Jack? Helping us with the threat", Alex told him.

"I hope so", was Jack's response.

Minutes later, and Jack, George and Goren were alone in the conference room. Jack was disgusted by the creature that was called Marshall, and tried hard to control himself as he read from Goren's rap sheet.

"Yeah, hey look I already made my deal. I testify against Wald and I walk", Goren smirked, knowing that he was getting a get out of jail free card. However, Jack was not willing to let him play it. He whipped out his gun and fired one shot straight into Goren's heart, killing him instantly, much to Mason's horror.

"OH GOD........JACK ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!", Mason yelled, and he was beginning to wonder if Jack was fit enough to be anywhere near CTU.

"YOU WANNA FIND THIS BOMB, THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE!", Jack shouted back, his voice full of determination.

"Killing a witness?", George asked, wondering if Jack had indeed lost his mind.

"That's the thing about people like you George, you don't want to get your hands dirty. I'd start rolling up your sleeves....I'm gonna need a hacksaw."

_**8:59:57**_

_**8:59:58**_

_**8:59:59**_

_**9:00:00**_


	2. Deeper You Go

**9:00am, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex was typing away manically at his computer. The information he was looking for was of great importance to CTU and Alex knew that the entire city depended on them to stop the nuke threat.A pessimistic thought had crept into his head, reminding him of that day 18 months previously, his first day at CTU Los Angeles. He knew that today was nothing like that day, and that CTU had changed a lot since the primary. America had changed as well, what with the election of David Palmer as President. Not only was he a pioneer in being the first African-American POTUS, but he was also a strong and effective leader, much better for the country than his predecessor had been.

**9.05am, CTU Los Angeles**

A pensive Mason approached Alex, hoping that Alex could do him, and Jack, a favour. Handing Alex a piece of paper, he explained what he wanted him to do.

"Can you call Kim Bauer, try and get in contact with her, Alex? When you do, make sure she's on her way to her Aunt Carol's, would ya?", Mason asked, and Alex replied with a nod. Looking at the paper as he dialed the phone number hastily written on it, he was hoping that Kim would soon be out of harm's way, unlike that day, when she had been in and out of trouble for hours and suffering ordeal after ordeal. Alex waited for Kim to pick up, but it went to voicemail after a few rings. Leaving a message for Kim, he put the phone down.

**9.10am, CTU Los Angeles**

A look of confusion spread across Alex's face as he saw the black body bag being discreetly moved out of the conference room. He assumed that it could only have been that Goren guy, seeing as Jack and Mason were still alive and had left the room some time earlier.

**9.25am, CTU Los Angeles**

"Did the fake records work?", Alex enquired as he passed Paula in the corridor. She had done some very impressive work that morning, including the false rap sheet for Jack's cover.

"Perfectly", Paula said, but with a tone in her voice that suggested doubt. Even so, Alex was pleased that everything seemed to be going to plan. He knew that everyone was nervous because of the nuke threat, and he would easily admitted to being anxious himself, but he had tried his best not to think of the nuclear bomb. If it went off, chances were that they would never know what hit them anyway.

**9.33am, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex, and numerous other CTU agents, watched as Mason and Tony met in the middle of the bullpit. Mason was trying to leave, stating that he had to go to Bakersfield, but Tony wasn't in the mood to believe him. Anyone who knew Mason knew that he was very often weasel-like in his actions, and would try and get out of undesirable situations for his own good, even when it was his duty to stay and fight the threat. Tony, accusing him of doing just that, was sceptical but in the end Mason overruled him and left the building, leaving an exasperated Tony in charge.

**9.45am, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex's phone rang, and Alex quickly picked it up due to the possibility that it might be Kim. Being tactful, he didn't use his surname as per CTU protocol.

"CTU", he stated, hoping to hear Kim's voice, which he did. Her voice, however, was panicked and she sounded out of breath.

"Alex? You gotta send someone! I can't explain too much right now, but....", Kim's voice was replaced by static and Alex spoke her name a few times. He considered hanging up and redialing, but then the line went dead. Concerned, Alex tried to ring her back, but her cell was switched off. Alex could only hope that Kim was not in any imminent danger, as there was no way of telling where she was. There was technology available at CTU that could do the job, but everything and everyone was focused on the threat.

**9.57am, Los Angeles**

Eddie, Jack and company were in the van, traveling through the streets of Los Angeles. Jack was keen to find out more about the job they were about to do. Asking Eddie, he hoped that Eddie would be forthcoming with the information. This would give him a bigger window of opportunity in which to contact CTU and stop the bomb from causing any damage.

"Well, today we're gonna turn a government building into a cemetery", Eddie announced, laughing at his own perverse joke. Jack was unsettled by this, and wanted more information.

"What building?", Jack enquired. There were tons of government buildings in LA, and Jack knew that almost any one of them could be a target for Eddie Grant.

"This agency's been dogging us for years. They call it the Los Angeles Counter terrorist Unit, the CTU", Eddie responded, and Jack had to rely on almost every undercover skill he had not to react to this news. Hoping that he would be able to warn CTU in time was all that he could do at that point, and Jack hated feeling helpless.

_**9:59:57**_

_**9:59:58**_

_**9:59:59**_

_**10:00:00**_


	3. Life's Thread Cut

**10:00am, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex was sat at his desk, nervously chewing the end of a pen. He had been unable get in touch with Kim, and it was impossible to divert any CTU resources towards finding her. Hoping that she was not in any immediate danger, he returned to work.

**10.10am, Palmer's office, OC**

Lynne Kresge was worried. It was now becoming obvious that there really was a nuclear bomb endangering the city of Los Angeles, and she had gotten some information that needed to get to President Palmer immediately. As Palmer scanned the information he had just been given, he looked surprised, but a part of him knew that this would be one of his biggest tests as President.

**10.30am, CTU Chicago**

In Chicago, where they were hundreds of miles away from the threat of nuclear oblivion but still working on the threat, Sarah Henderson was hard at work. As Chief of Staff, she was one of the most important members of the team at CTU, and it had been a career filled with highs and lows. It had only been a year and a half since the Palmer assassination attempt in Los Angeles, a day which had badly affected her, her friends and her life. Alex had come up to Chicago the weekend after, and she was shocked to see how much difference a week made. She looked over at Josh Papierski, her boyfriend and the Special Agent in Charge. Their relationship had grown out of the tragedy and although it had sad roots, it blossomed well and the couple never saw their relationship as a way of covering up their feelings or trying to pretend as if the events of Primary day had never happened.

**10.54am, CTU Los Angeles**

"Everyone listen up!," shouted Michelle, trying hard to get everyone's full attention. Seconds later, the alarms started to blare out, and Michelle's shepherding of people towards the exits meant that something was imminent. Not sticking around to find out, Alex stood up and looked around, making sure that everyone was moving. Alex watched as Tony led Paula quickly down the stairs from Mason's office, and heard Michelle's voice, before the first bomb exploded. Debris and bodies were sent flying in all directions, and Alex was no exception. He was forced backwards by the explosion, and found his flight stopped when he went crashing into a wall. Looking down as his brain struggled to catch up with the rest of his body, he flung his head up as another explosion tore through the building. Struggling to his feet, he moved as quickly as he could towards the nearest exit, before the third and final explosion shattered the eerie quiet.

As Alex walked into the underground garage, he coughed violently. He saw the numerous injured people, some with blood stains all over their bodies, some struggling to walk or even stay concious. Feeling his head, he felt the gash on his forehead and winced. As far as he could tell, there were no other major injuries to his body, and he felt as if he should have been taking some higher power that he didn't believe in for his lucky escape. A paramedic guided him towards the back of an ambulance, where he began to take a look at Alex's wounds.

Kim shielded Megan's eyes from the ghastly horror that surrounded them in the garage. Having made the journey to CTU, they had been just about to enter when the bombs went off, and Kim had no idea what had happened. She looked sadly at the injured people, and could only imagine what had just happened within the building.


	4. Two Siblings Reminisce

_**A/N – Although I consider S2 to be on the best seasons of 24 it's turning out to be just inserting Alex into the day, so I'm going to change things around a bit. The main plot of Day Two will go ahead, but I'm going to make Day Two fit around Alex and not the other way around.**_

**11.00am, CTU Los Angeles**

"Alex, that gash looks bad, maybe you should go to the hospital?," a concerned Michelle asked as Alex drank from a bottle of water. They were standing in a desert of rubble and wires that had once been the bullpen. Alex looked at her and decided that it probably looked far worse than it was, but also that it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

"You're probably right. I'll go and see if one of the ambulances can give me a lift," Alex replied. He hoped that the hospital would be able to fix the wound enough for him to return to work.

**11.05am, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Nina was, like all the other prisoners, in the recreation room of the prison. Held in the most secure part of the complex, she was surrounded by other women who had committed horrific crimes, including a couple of serial killers. Nina didn't feel like she belonged with these women, and had not allowed herself to become used to being caged up. The small black and white television in the corner of the room had informed her of the explosion at CTU, much to her delight -although she kept it hidden, as no one there knew that she had once been a federal agent. It told her that it was the day she could be free, the day that Syed Ali's group would try to destroy Los Angeles with a nuke. It wasn't like Nina actually wanted millions of people to be murdered, but she knew that CTU would find a connection between her and Ali. Knowing that she would probably come face to face with Jack once again, she felt apprehensive. The last time they had been together inside CTU, he had almost killed her after learning of her betrayal. After that, they had been in the same room as each other only a few times, in the court room where she was jailed for life without the possibility of parole. There she had gazed at Jack, and he had stared back, knowing that he couldn't get to her and wipe the superior smirk off of her face.

**11.10pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex was fortunate to find an ambulance that could take him to the hospital. He sat down close to the stretcher, where an agent Alex knew as Annie Raines was led. Her blonde hair was streaked with blood and dust, and her face and arms were bloodied and bruised. Looking at her watery eyes, he could tell that she was scared. Taking her hand into his, he looked at her.

"You'll be fine, Annie, I'm sure of it," he told her. He knew little about her, but he could tell that she was a strong person, and that she wouldn't let the bombing affect her more than it had to.

"Thank you, Alex. Do they know who did this?," Annie replied, her voice croaky and weak, but still with a Californian accent. Alex shook his head.

"No, they don't, but it's probably got something to do with the threat," Alex said, careful not to mention the nuke in front of civilians, as there was no barrier between them and the EMTs in the front of the vehicle.

**11.15am, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Having grown bored of watching the news footage of the plume of smoke that now towered over the CTU building, Nina had retreated to the other side of the room, where she sat down on a blue plastic chair. Observing the numerous other prisoners in the room, Nina knew that this was a place where she held no power, where little excitement could be found to make her feel alive – prison was exciting in its own way, but it wasn't the kind that Nina craved. Stuck near the bottom of a hierarchy that had guards and brown nosers at the top, and new prisoners at the bottom, she was already tired of prison life.

"Hey Nina," another inmate spoke as she sat down next to her. Almost the opposite of Nina, she was tall, well-built, blond, tanned and brown-eyed. Her name was Chloe Hope, a middle-aged woman who was in jail for murdering another woman in a drunken bar fight. She was Nina's cellmate, and the pair had formed a loose alliance. Nina looked at her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hello Chloe. Heard the news about CTU?," Nina asked her. Chloe was the only one in the prison who knew what Nina had done, and what she had once been.

"Yeah. I'm going to assume you had something to do with it?," Chloe replied, her eyes gazing towards the tiny television, although it was too far away for her to see anything other than a blur.

"In a way I did," Nina spoke. She knew that it was now only a matter of time before they would come for her.

**11.20am, St Virgil's Hospital, Los Angeles**

Alex walked into the waiting room to wait for a nurse to come and look at his wound. Annie had been taken to the ER, and he made a mental note to check on her before he left the hospital. He had been lucky to receive only minor wounds in the explosion, and he wondered if people could tell that he was a CTU agent. There was a television in the waiting room, quietly informing anyone who was watching of the bombing, and Alex was trying hard to ignore it. The fact that it had killed many of his colleagues and injured far more was bad enough, without him having to relive it via the news.

**11.25am, CTU Los Angeles**

Michelle Dessler was looking with teary eyes at the blood on her hands as she scrubbed her hands roughly at the sink in the woman's toilets. She had just seen friends, colleagues, injured and even killed, and she knew that she had to keep herself together in order to fight the threat that they faced from the nuke. She didn't notice the door open until she saw Tony's reflection in the mirror. Turning around, she looked at him. Tony took her hands in his own and squeezed them gently.

"We'll get through this, Michelle. We just need to stick together," Tony whispered. He knew that Michelle had not experienced anything quite like this before, and he was deeply concerned for her. With George out of CTU, he was in charge and she was second, which he knew was going to be stressful even without the massive threat.

**11.30am, St Virgil's Hospital, Los Angeles**

Alex thanked the nurse as she finished cleaning and bandaging the wound on his arm. Asking her for directions to the ER, he decided to head there and find out about Annie. He knew that she was an analyst that had started at CTU after Nina's arrest, so was one of the few agents who knew little of his connection to the woman people knew as Nina, the dangerous terrorist who would kill anyone with no regrets. Entering the ER, he asked a nurse as to the whereabouts of Annie.

"Ms Raines has been taken to surgery, she'll not be back for a few hours, Agent Myers. I'll contact CTU when she's out," the nurse, a short Asian man, informed him.

**11.35am, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Nina was now back in her cell, looking for a document that she had managed to get smuggled into the prison. Locating it under the small wooden table, she opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper and a photograph. She knew that the photo was of one Mamud Faheen. It had been him who had hired her to give the blueprints to Joseph Wald, the leader of the group who were behind the bombs. Having met him quite a few times, she had been amused when she realised that he had some sort of crush on her. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't interested in a relationship, so had tried to hint that she didn't feel the same way. As for the piece of paper, it gave her details of Second Waves plans for the nuke. Written in Arabic to prevent any prying eyes from reading the document, it told her enough to be sure that she could use it to her advantage, but not enough to give CTU to stop the bomb – Nina knew that no one trusted her fully, and that everyone who knew of her knew that she could easily betray anyone.

**11.40am, CTU Los Angeles**

The cleaning up of CTU was now well under way, and the place was looking closer to normal, although it was still an obstacle course of rubble and metal. Occasional sparks flew from wires, and tiny creaks could be heard, before louder bangs betrayed the collapse of some unstable structure or pile of rubble. The computer network as back up and running, thanks to Michelle, and they were now able to communicate with other CTU branches and other agencies. Brushing off the pile of debris off of a desk, Tony wondered when George was planning on returning. The older and more senior agent had seemed pre-occupied when he had called, and Tony was wondering if he was keeping something from him.

**11.45am, Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Nina had now returned to the recreation room, and sat back down where she had been sitting minutes before. The documents had been left in her cell – she didn't want CTU to find them if she was indeed needed by them – and now she was relaxing as much as she could inside a maximum security prison. Looking over at the television, she could just about tell that the news had finally gotten bored of the explosion at CTU, and was now talking about some other issue that she was sure that she had no interest in.

**11.50am, car park, St Virgil's Hospital, Los Angeles**

Kim looked around anxiously as she waited for Miguel to get to where she was standing with Megan. Turning around, she jumped as she saw Gary standing behind her. He looked angry, and Kim was beginning to get worried. Moving away from him quickly, with Megan stood behind her, she tried not to let her fear show.

"I'm not letting you anywhere near her until her mother gets here! I know what you've done to them!," Kim spoke, and she could hear someone running towards them. Smirking, Gary looked straight into her eyes.

"I don't think there's much chance of that happening, Kim, now hand over Megan and I'll drop all the charges," Gary spoke, only to be tackled to the ground by Miguel, and a fight erupted between the pair. Watching in horror, Kim tried to shield Megan's eyes from the violent scenes.

As Alex walked out of the hospital, he noticed the scuffle and for a moment, wondered what it was about, until he noticed Kim. Glad that he was still carrying his CTU credentials and gun, he ran towards the fight.

"Hey, break it up! I'm a federal agent!," Alex shouted, pointing his gun to show that he meant it, and as the pair stood up, Gary looked at Alex then at Kim.

"Good timing, then. You might want to arrest this young woman, for kidnapping my daughter!," Gary replied. He didn't know of Kim's connection to any federal agency, and this made it even more satisfactory for Alex.

"The only person I'll be arresting is you. Turn around and kneel down," Alex spoke as he kept the gun pointed at Gary. As Matheson complied, Alex noticed the car keys in his pocket. Grabbing them, much to Gary's protests, he saw a security guard running towards them.

"I'm Agent Alex Myers, CTU. I need you to detain this man until a CTU agent can take him into custody. I'll call and tell them who he is," Alex informed the guard, holding up his CTU badge.

Walking towards Gary's car, Alex knew that he had to get Kim out of Los Angeles. Deciding to phone CTU once they had set off, he felt relieved that he was able to help Kim.

_**11:59:57**_

_**11:59:58**_

_**11:59:59**_

_**12:00:00**_


	5. Revelations

**12.00pm, Wald's house, Los Angeles**

Jack was sat down near the table in Wald's makeshift hideout. In his hands were the photos of Nina he had been given by Wald seconds before the terrorist had shot himself. He stared at Nina's face, stared at the woman who had seemed so normal until that night she killed his wife. Wald had told him that the photographs were taken six months before Nina was arrested, and Jack couldn't believe it. For a long time, even after the trial, Jack had assumed that Nina had just been working for the Drazens, but now the truth was in his hands. Six months before her arrest, he and Nina had been together whilst he was separated from Teri. He was brought back to the present day by the sound of his cell phone.

"Yeah?," Jack spoke as he answered, still in a state of shock.

"Dad? Where are you?," Kim replied. She, along with Alex, Miguel and Megan, were now in Gary's car heading for Kim's aunt's house in San Jose.

"I'm going back to CTU soon, Kim. Are you still in Los Angeles?," Jack spoke. He had been trying to get Kim out of LA all morning, and now he had found a link between the nuke and Nina Myers, he was even more determined to get Kim out of the city.

"No, I'm heading towards Aunt Carol's house. Alex taking me," Kim spoke, much to Jack's relief. He could trust Alex enough to get Kim to safety.

"Good, that's good. Look, call me when you get there, OK? I've got to help CTU," Jack told her.

**12.10pm**, **Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Nina was back in her cell, when two guards appeared at her door. She looked at the pair with curiosity, and waited for them to speak.

"Ms Myers? We've got orders to take you to CTU," The taller guard, a middle-aged woman with hazel eyes, brown hair and a deep Southern accent, informed her, as the shorter guard, a bald, stocky man, handcuffed her. As they led her past the rows of cells, she allowed herself to smirk slightly, knowing exactly what CTU wanted, and knowing that they would have to give her something in return.

**12.15pm, road in Los Angeles**

As Alex drove quickly but safely through the streets of Los Angeles, he was sure he could hear something bumping around in the back of the car. Deciding to pull over and park, he explained what he was doing, before getting out of the car. Carefully opening the trunk of the car, he stepped back as he saw a dead woman, bloodied and bruised all over. Closing the trunk quickly, he got back into the car.

"We need to stop at CTU for a moment, then we can continue onto San Jose," Alex spoke as he got back into the car.

"CTU? Why, what's in the trunk?," Kim asked, confused. She had no idea what connection something in Gary's car would have to do with CTU. Alex turned to look at Megan, who was fast asleep.

"There's a body in the trunk, a blond woman," Alex informed her, and Kim's face grew pale. Knowing exactly who was in the trunk, she nodded.

"I'm sorry, Kim. At least he can't hurt anyone else now," Alex replied as they drove off. He was beginning to realise that today was going to be just like the day Nina had been arrested. That day had seen so much bloodshed and violence.

**12.20pm, CTU helicopter near Los Angeles**

Shackled and surrounded by four guards, Nina wasn't letting herself be intimidated. She knew that these guards had no idea just how close she was to freedom, and she liked it that way. They were close to Los Angeles now, and Nina wondered if Jack was at CTU, and if he even knew that she was on her way there. Not having heard much about Jack since her arrest, she had no idea what had happened to him or to anyone at CTU. Alex had visited her a few times, but for quite a large part of her time in prison, she had forbidden anyone to visit her, and she knew that her secret was going to stay a secret until her death.

**12.25pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Kim, Megan and Miguel stayed in the car as Alex walked into the main building to explain about Carla's body. The medical staff were going to have to take her discreetly, as there were no morgue workers available. Walking into the bullpen, he was noticed by Jack, who had suddenly grown concerned.

"Alex? Where's Kim? I thought you were taking her to her aunt's house?," Jack spoke, hoping that was a good reason why Alex was still in Los Angeles.

"We had to make a quick stop here, Jack. The woman who Kim babysat for, Carla Matheson, her body was found in her husband's car. I arrested Gary at the hospital, and he's in one of the holding rooms here, but that was before we knew he killed his wife. I'm waiting for the body to be taken to the morgue then I'll use my car so they can examine Gary's," Alex replied, and Jack sighed. Suddenly, Jack looked behind Alex, and a dark look of hate appeared on his face. Confused, Alex turned around and came face to face with his sister once more.

"What the hell is she doing here?," Alex spoke as he kept his eyes on Nina, who was staring angrily at Jack.

"She has information about the nuke, Alex. Look, I'll keep you updated but don't tell Kim about Nina, please," Jack spoke, and Alex nodded. As Nina disappeared from view, Alex decided to get Kim out of CTU as soon as he could. Michelle, who was also looking at Nina, was surprised to see such a petite woman. From what she had heard of Nina Myers, she had assumed Nina to be taller, but she looked like a child compared to the giant guards surrounding her. The fact that she was heavily shackled, and chained to two of the four guards, meant that the whole parade looked almost farcical. Of course, she knew that Nina Myers was never to be underestimated, and that she was deadly and could adapt to any situation in order to exploit it.

Heading towards Gary's car, he saw Kim, Megan and Miguel standing next to it. Explaining that Gary's car had to be taken for forensics, he took out the keys for his own car, parked nearby. Unlike his previous car, which was dark blue, his car was now black. Although the car was not that badly damaged in the crash, he had decided to get rid of it as it reminded him too much of that day. Getting into the car, Alex tried hard to put Nina out of his mind – it was a five hour journey and the last thing he wanted was to upset Kim.

**12.30pm, Holding Room 1, CTU Los Angeles**

Nina was looking around the room, which had suffered minor damage from the explosion. Although she had been able to see some of Wald's handiwork in the main bullpen, she had concentrated on looking directly at Jack, and had been satisfied by the look of pure hatred that she had inspired on his face. Standing next to him was Alex, and she had noticed his shock at seeing her back at CTU once more, which made her wonder if he had been told of her return. Mason had just been in the room, and as expected he had rejected her conditions. Of course, she knew that she was in control, and that they needed her help if they wanted to stop the nuke.

Back in the bullpen, and Jack had just finished his phone conversation with President Palmer. Fuming, he had just been told that Nina was going to be pardoned for her help in stopping the nuke, and he was determined to make sure that she never got the chance to taste freedom ever again. The only problem for him was that he was unable to get to her, and even if he did, he couldn't hurt her as she had information that CTU needed. This meant that he had to be the one who she would work with, and he had to find a way of making that happen.

**12.35pm, Northwest Region Operations Complex, Oregon**

President David Palmer had just made a decision harder than many he would face in his term as President. He was about to pardon one of the most dangerous American terrorists alive, and he had just had to inform Jack Bauer of this. It had hurt him to have to tell Jack that the murderer of his wife was going to go free, but he had no choice in the matter. For any other leader, it would have been a slightly easier decision – release one prisoner in order to save the lives of millions of innocent people, but Palmer knew that it was a possibility that he was releasing one prisoner to save millions of innocents as well as maybe condemning people to become future victims of Nina Myers. Promising Jack that one day they would make it right had seemed like a good thing to say, but Palmer had no idea what exactly it would take to make it right. He certainly wasn't going to deliberately arrange for her to be killed, and there was no evidence that linked her to any crimes she hadn't already been convicted of.

**12.40pm, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles**

Alex had been fortunate to find little traffic was in his way, and now they were outside of Los Angeles, although Alex knew that they were still in the potential fallout zone in the event of a nuke blast over Los Angeles. The radio was playing quietly, and Alex was glad that the trip would be peaceful. He had managed to forget about Nina, and as concentrating on getting his three passengers to San Jose. Checking the time, he worked out that they would be in San Jose by late afternoon.

**12.45pm, Holding Room 2, CTU Los Angeles**

Gary Matheson had just been informed that he was going to be charged with the murder of his wife, and it was all he could think of. He recalled the moment that his anger had reached boiling point, the moment when he had suddenly began beating Carla as viciously and as hard as he could. The violent scene had gone on for some minutes until the anger had left his body, and when he had seen his wife lying dead on the floor, he had panicked. His solution was to wrap her in plastic and place her in the trunk of his car, in order to dump her somewhere late at night. Now he was facing life in prison.

**12.50pm, ****Valley State Women's Prison, Chowchilla, California**

Chloe Hope was sat in her cell, and she wondered what Nina was doing. She assumed that the guards had taken her to CTU to be questioned, but had been told by Nina just before she had left that they probably wouldn't see each other again. Although she wouldn't mind seeing her only friend again, Nina had always told her that she might one day get out of prison for good, and it seemed as if that day had arrived.

**12.58pm, CTU Los Angeles**

The surveillance monitors that allowed the agents to see what was going in inside the Holding Room where Nina was being kept had been set up, and now Jack looked at Nina on the monitor. She seemed to be patiently waiting, unconcerned with the threat or anything other than doing what was in her interests. Suddenly, Nina looked straight into the camera, and Jack turned away quickly, spooked. It was as if she had known he was watching.

_**12:58:57**_

_**12:58:58**_

_**12:58:59**_

_**13:00:00**_


	6. Dusty Roads And Angry Skies

**1.00pm, road near Frazier Park, California**

Both Kim and Megan were now fast asleep, and as they travelled northwards on the Interstate, Miguel looked at Alex.

"How do you know Kim?," Miguel asked. He knew little about Alex, but had heard of him a couple of times. Alex wondered how much information was needed to answer the question.

"Me and Jack are friends, so Kim trusts me a lot, I suppose," Alex replied. Although this was true, Alex wasn't sure if it was a good idea to mention Nina, or that day in any way. He didn't know how much Miguel knew about Kim or her mother.

"You're not from around here, are you, originally?," Miguel asked, noticing Alex's Midwestern accent.

"I'm from Chicago originally. I moved here about a year and a half ago," Alex said.

"That's around the time Kim's mother died. Did you know Mrs Bauer?," Miguel enquired, and Alex gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. He had not expected that question at all.

"For a short while, yeah. Teri was a good person, a great mother to Kim," Alex spoke, hoping that Miguel's questions would either cease or go in a more comfortable direction. Nodding, Miguel seemed to be content with what he had been told, much to Alex's relief. He began to realise that anyone who became close to Kim or Jack might ask similar questions.

**1.05pm, CTU Los Angeles**

As Jack walked into the room, his eyes and Nina's met, and the anger that came from both pairs of eyes was intense. Jack was in no mood to be friendly, and certainly in no mood to be formal. He just wanted to get what information he could out of her. What happened after that, he didn't know, but he did know that he would take any opportunity he could to end her life. Placing the pardon on the desk, he kept his eyes trained on Nina as she carefully read the pardon. She too did not want to waste any time, and so the battle began.

Back in the bullpen, Mason and Michelle were watching the interrogation on the monitors. Michelle, who knew little about either Jack or Nina, was learning a lot about the pair just from what she was seeing and hearing, but for Mason, these were two people he had known well for a long time. Nina's arrest had been a shock to him, especially as his idea of Nina was as a loyal agent who was a close friend to Jack. Of course, Mason knew now why she had been so friendly, and couldn't believe that a sleeper agent had gone unnoticed for seven years inside CTU. Suddenly, Jack grew angry and threw the table over to the side of the room, leaving nothing in between him and Nina. Michelle gasped as she saw this. She had seen anger from agents when interrogating suspects, but had never seen someone chuck a table like that. Then, Jack forced Nina's chair back before clamping his hand around her neck, sending Mason running towards the holding room.

Nina wasn't sure if Jack was going to let go at all this time, and as her vision began to turn blurry, all she could focus on was Jack's voice as he threatened her. As she was certain that he was going to kill her, something which sadistically satisfied her as it would have meant no information from her, she sensed someone else coming into the room and, as Jack's hand was released from her neck, she doubled forward and coughed. Hearing Mason's voice, she was glad that he had come in so soon to help her, but now she had to recompose herself and not lose the control she was barely holding onto.

**1.15pm, ****Northwest Region Operations Complex, Oregon**

Palmer was alone in his office, making use of this little moment of peace and quiet that he managed to get. The whole day was turning out to be one of the most eventful and stressful of his time in office. Not only was there a nuclear bomb out there threatening an entire city, his ex-wife Sherry had managed to weasel her way back into his life, and his career. It wasn't as if he was ungrateful for her help, he just knew that she was only doing it because she wanted power, just like she had been before the divorce. It had taken that eventful Tuesday in Los Angeles for him to really see the true Sherry, and it was not a pretty sight. He had loved her, but he didn't recognise the woman he had left behind that night.

**1,20pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Jack was back in the Holding Room with Nina, and this time he was sure that his tactic would work. Having asked Mason to raise the thermostat, the room was becoming oppressively hot, and it was obvious to both of why he had asked for the rise in temperature. Asking her a question, which went unanswered, Jack pulled out his gun and fired two shots close to her head, and Nina was visibly shocked. Walking up to her, placing the gun next to her head, he demanded answers, and he soon got them.

**1.25pm, road near Lost Hills, California**

Winding down his window to let some air into the car, Alex checked the time. Still a few hours of driving to go before they got to San Jose. He knew that Kim's Aunt Carol was expecting them, and was hoping that Kim would soon be able to return to Los Angeles, and the threat defeated. He had met Carol O'Neill only once before, at Teri's funeral. That had been a sad day, and Alex had been concerned that Teri's family would be offended by his presence, although it eventually passed by with no such offence voiced. Looking next to and behind him, he realised that all three passengers were fast asleep.

**1.30pm, CTU Los Angeles**

As Nina was escorted out of CTU along with Jack on their way to Visalia, Mason's cough began to worsen, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to leave too soon. The nuke was going to kill him whether it exploded over Los Angeles or not, and he was determined to do all he could to stop it. Even so, the effects were hitting him hard, and they were only going to get worse as the day went on. Sighing as he sat down, he looked around. CTU was still a literal bomb site, but at least everything was up and running again, and that was due in no small part to Paula Schaeffer, one of the victims of the bombs. They had tried so hard to keep her alive, to get the information only she had, but before she could be taken to hospital she had crashed, and there was no recovery for her. He had seen the look in people's eyes as she died, as if they were blaming him for her death, even though he had no choice but to get the information, and he knew that his final hours had to be doing as much as he could to help stop the bomb.

**1.35pm, Holding Room 2, CTU Los Angeles**

Gary Matheson was about to be transferred to a local police station to be charged with the murder of his wife, and as he was led out of the room, he decided that he would take any action necessary to get the hell out of there. Walking down the corridor towards the exit, where a CTU car was waiting, he was surrounded by two CTU agents, and his hands were cuffed in front of him. Suddenly, he tried to grab one of the agent's guns, and as he attempted to point it at the very agent he had taken it from, the other shot at him, hitting him in the chest. As Matheson collapsed to the ground, one of the agents called out for a medic. It was little use to anyone, though, as seconds later, Matheson drew his last breath.

**1.40pm, road near Avenal, California**

Alex had stopped at a gas station to check on CTU's progress, whilst Kim, Miguel and Megan had gone into the store to get refreshments. Standing near the car in the shade of a nearby tree, he waited for someone to pick up.

"CTU, Dessler," Michelle said as she picked up.

"It's Alex. I'm calling to see what's happening at CTU. We're close to Avenal, and should be in San Jose in a couple of hours," Alex replied, and Michelle wondered how to tell him.

"We're still not much closer to finding the nuke, although Nina is going to give us some information," Michelle spoke, but the tone of her voice made Alex suspicious that she was hiding something.

"Information? From Nina? Michelle, what have CTU offered her? This is a woman who betrayed her country and murdered Jack's wife for money," Alex spoke, and Michelle sighed.

"They're going to pardon her, Alex. She'll be sent to some other country and banned from ever entering the United States again," Michelle informed him, and Alex couldn't believe it. After everything Nina had done, she was going to get away so easily? He decided not to mention this to Kim at all, as Jack would probably want to tell her when this was all over.

"How's Jack taking it?," Alex asked, watching as the trio emerged from the store and went to the car.

"Not well. He and Nina are heading to Visalia, she has a contact there who is connected to the nuke," Michelle replied. Alex noted that they were close to Visalia themselves, and could only guess at what that journey would be like. Jack and Nina in the same vehicle on a hot day for

"OK. I'll call back again when we get to San Jose," Alex told her. As he walked towards the car, he mentally blocked Nina out and concentrated on getting to San Jose. Getting into the car, Kim asked him how CTU were doing.

"They're getting close, and it looks like the bombing isn't affecting them too much at the moment," Alex told her, before driving off.

**1.45pm, Warden Airbase, Los Angeles**

Getting into the plane that would take them to Visalia, Jack and Nina were in mood to deal with each other and quietly sat down without saying a word to each other. Nina, who was shackled to the chair as well as handcuffed, looked out of the window and thought of her imminent release from custody, although she knew that not only did she have to help stop the nuke threat, but that she also had to survive Jack, which was not an easy task for anyone, even her.

Jack was taking the occasional glance over at Nina, as if he were worried she would try something. His anger at her was being controlled for now, especially as there were FBI agents there who would stop him from going anywhere near Nina if he tried to harm her. Even so, he knew that he had plenty of time to get an opportunity to get to her, and if he failed and she got away, he could always go after her. As his cell rang, he looked to see who was calling, and finding out that it was CTU, he answered.

"Jack, it's Michelle. Alex called, and they are currently near Avenal and should be in San Jose by later this afternoon. I also told him about Nina's pardon," Michelle informed him, and Jack was glad to know that at least Kim was safe from the nuke. He hoped that Alex would not even mention Nina, never mind the pardon, to Kim and realised that he would have to tell her about Nina's release after all this was over. Taking another look at Nina, he saw that she was asleep, but not in the light, always on alert sleep she had back when they were together. This was a deep, normal sleep of someone with a clear conscience, and Jack just wanted to wake her up for no reason other than to snap her out of the sleep he felt she didn't deserve.

**1.50pm, CTU Los Angeles**

George was sat in his office, staring at the pills that he had been given to help him cope with the pain that his final few hours would bring. Sighing, he took a couple before washing them down with a swig from a bottle of water. Opening a drawer in his desk, he took out a photograph of himself and his family from years ago. His son, John, didn't talk to him much nowadays, but seeing as George was dying and had less than a day left to go, he wanted to reconcile with John – along with stopping the nuke, it was his last wish. Picking up the phone, he knew just how to get John to come to CTU.

"Ken, it's George? You know you owe me a favour? Well, I'm calling it in," George spoke, never taking his eyes off of his son's picture.

**1.55pm, road near Coalinga, California**

Apart from the quiet radio, the only sound in the car was Kim's voice as she talked on her phone to her Aunt Carol. Kim had explained to her that she was well on her way to San Jose, and had told her that she was coming with her boyfriend, Alex and the little girl she was looking after. After she had finished her call, Kim looked at Alex.

"Are you returning to Los Angeles after we get to San Jose?," Kim asked. Although she knew that he was supposed to return to Los Angeles, she didn't really want him to go back knowing that a nuke could destroy the city at any moment. It was bad enough for knowing that her dad, and his side of the family, were all within the possible blast zone.

"Yeah, I have to. I wouldn't worry though, because when I called CTU it sounded like they were making some real progress," Alex replied, telling a little white lie that sounded better than the truth.


	7. The Connections I Made

**2.00pm, CTU Los Angeles**

As John Mason was escorted into CTU by Officer Ken Williams, he looked around the place and wondered how on earth they were still able to work. As he was taken up the stairs to his father's office, he glanced at George, and wondered what the hell he wanted. The pair were not in regular contact and their relationship had gone downhill ever since the divorce and Helena Mason had moved with John to Phoenix, Arizona. Entering the office, he could tell that his father looked terrible, but tried not to show any concern. George thanked the officer as he took the handcuffs off of John.

"What do you want, Dad? I mean, it must be pretty important for you to have me arrested!," John demanded, a lock of blond hair falling onto his face as he spoke. Moving it away from his eyes, he looked straight at his father.

"John, I want to give you something," George answered, before opening a drawer in his desk. Holding out a piece of paper to his son, he waited a few seconds before his son sighed and then relented.

"What's this, Dad, and why are you giving it to me?," John enquired, confused. His father was not the sort to give him much, and now he had, John had no idea what he had just been given.

"It's a bank account, got a lot of money in it. I won't be needing it, and so I want you to have it. Unless you want to give it to your mom," George spoke, and John looked at him with curiosity.

"Why are you giving this to me? Why are you so suddenly trying to be a good father?," John asked his father, and George could feel his eyes begin to water. Standing up, before walking over to his son, he placed an hand on his son's shoulder.

"Look, the truth is, I'm dying. I don't have a lot of time left, John," George spoke, his voice beginning to crack even though he was trying hard not to let it.

"What? You're dying, from what?," John asked, his eyes wide and he too looked like he was about to cry.

"It's complicated, John. Look, I need you to go and stay with your mom in Phoenix for a few days, John, please? Do it for me?," George asked, and John suddenly embraced his father, making a mental note to do just that as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Not just because you're dying, but because we never really knew each other after you and Mom got divorced," John spoke, his voice muffled slightly as he hugged his father tightly.

**2.10pm, Visalia, California**

As the convoy of agents and Nina arrived in the medium-sized Californian city of Visalia, Nina looked over at Jack, who was busy talking on his cell, presumably to CTU. The past few hours had been a complete mix of situations, and Nina wasn't sure exactly who was in control. As Jack finished his call, he noticed Nina was looking at him, and she turned away quickly. A flash of hurt went across Jack's face, until he realised why they were there in the first place.

"If you manage to get this pardon, Nina, could you promise to stay wherever you're sent, or would that not be enough for you?," Jack asked, his voice slightly more spiteful than he had wanted it to be. Nina looked back at him, slightly surprised by the question. She had assumed that he would think that she would try and escape at the first opportunity.

"You know I can't make that promise, Jack, we both do," Nina replied with an answer that Jack was expecting.

"When you were first arrested, I thought that you had been coerced. I couldn't comprehend that you were doing this voluntarily, that you made a choice to be a terrorist. Ever since then, I've heard so much about you that I never knew, that now I can't comprehend that you were ever the Nina I thought you were," Jack told her. Although Nina showed no visible response to the statement, inside it hurt her in a way that she could never understand. Although at one point she had truly loved Jack, she had always known that it was simply a means to an end, that it meant nothing to her. No one had ever affected her in this way, and she had certainly never been attracted to anyone as much as she had been attracted to Jack.

"I made that choice years ago, Jack. The Nina you once knew, she's dead, and you have to get over her," Nina told him, her voice softer but still emotionless. What she had just told Jack was something she hoped he would accept, even if she was lying.

**2.15pm, road south of Los Banos, California**

Alex had stopped again, this time to answer a call from CTU. As he paced slowly close to the car, the other three were stood further away, under a palm tree.

"Do you like Alex? As a friend, I mean," Miguel asked Kim as he looked over at the agent. Kim looked at him and wondered why Miguel was taking an interest in him.

"I suppose so. He's friendly, trustworthy, considerate. Quite a good friend, actually. Why do you ask?," Kim replied.

"What was the name of the woman who killed your mother, Kim?," Miguel asked, and Kim looked straight into his eyes with a serious stare.

"What does that have to do with anything, Miguel? Why bring that up?," Kim asked, feeling slightly hurt, not to mention worried. She was concerned that Miguel had somehow worked out a connection between Alex and Nina.

"They have the same surname, he joined CTU around the time your mother died. Coincedence?," Miguel asked, and Kim didn't know what she could say.

"He's her brother, Miguel, but he's totally trustworthy and not like her! He feels guilt for something she did, and she doesn't feel anything about it!," Kim told him. Nodding, Miguel stood up and began to walk towards Alex, with Kim carrying a sleeping Megan and trying to keep up with him. Alex was finishing on the phone as Miguel approached, and was surprised when Miguel snatched the cell out of his hands.

"Who did you call?," Miguel asked a rather confused Alex as he looked at the call history, only to find that the call had been totally legitimate.

"I just called CTU. Are you OK, Miguel?," Alex asked him. The younger man seemed angry and was looking at him with suspicion, as he passed the phone back.

"I know that woman who killed Kim's mother was your sister, and I don't want her to be in the same car as you!," Miguel asked, and he began to walk northwards in the direction of San Jose, apparently assuming Kim would follow behind.

"Miguel, wait! If I didn't trust him, why would I have got in the car in the first place?," Kim called, and Miguel stopped, before turning around and walking back.

"You trust him, right? Like CTU trusted Nina Myers?," Miguel asked, and Alex had had enough of the argument.

"Miguel, we've got less than two hours to go before we get to San Jose. If you're so concerned about how much trust you should have in me, you can look after this," Alex told him, before passing Miguel his gun, and Miguel looked at him with surprise.

"You would seriously hand over your gun to a man you hardly know?," Miguel asked Alex, who was getting into the car. As he did, he looked at Miguel.

"Kim obviously loves you and cares about you, Miguel, so I think I'll trust her instincts," Alex replied. Miguel, without saying a word, got into the car.

"I'm sorry I'm doubting you, Alex, but I've been with Kim for months now, and her mom's death just devastated her," Miguel spoke. Turning to face Kim, he apologised.

"I'm sorry for bringing up your mother's death, Kim, and for doubting Alex," Miguel told her. Nodding, Kim accepted the apology.

**2.25pm, Visalia, California**

Nina had attempted to escape, seemingly thinking that the offer of Mamud Faheen would be enough, even though it would have broken her pardon conditions. As she tried in vain to break the lock on a gate that was in between her and freedom, she pulled out a gun that she had taken from Faheen, after knocking him unconcious, and aimed it at the lock. She had no chance to shoot, as Jack came around the corner and aimed his gun straight at her.

"Don't even think about it, because you know what will happen," Jack spoke, his voice harsh and threatening. He was pissed that she had attempted to escape, and wondered if Nina had forgotten her pardon already, although Jack reasoned that Nina would probably prefer to be on the run and free rather than in exile and restricted. Nina looked at him and then the lock, before returning to look at Jack. Sighing, she knew that she had no choice but to surrender, and allowed the gun to drop onto the top step of the staircase. Walking slowly down a few of the steps with her hands up in the air, Nina was instructed by Jack to turn around and kneel down, which was a difficult task on a hard, stone staircase.

Walking silently up the stairs, close to where she was knelt, Jack pushed his gun into the back of her head, and began to debate with himself whether or not he could pull the trigger. Meanwhile, Nina had her eyes closed, desperately hoping that her life was not about to come to a quick end. The silence made it worse, because she could hear herself punishing herself for such a stupid move. She knew that the escape would be futile, that he would be right behind her. She also knew that it would have given him a just reason to kill her, and now he was possibly about to take that chance.

Jack had made his decision, and as he pulled the safety on his gun, he was sure he heard Nina sigh with relief. Putting his gun in his holster, he retrieved a pair of handcuffs, which he swiftly locked tightly around Nina's wrists, and Nina had never been happier to feel the cold metal of cuffs before. Roughly pulling Nina to her feet, Jack moved her around and they began to descend the stairs back to Faheen's store. Both of them knew that the day was not over yet, and both of them knew that the other would be causing them problems.

**2.35pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Michelle was busy trying to keep the system running. Since the bomb, it had been stuttering, and Michelle was concerned that if it failed, it would take hours to restart, and even then it would another few hours before it would be fully working again. Looking up at George's office, she saw him trying to wipe away tears, and she wondered what was wrong, although she didn't want to invade his privacy. Since his return to CTU, George had seemed different, and that was before Michelle had really seen just how ill he was beginning to look. A thought popped into her head, but she dismissed it – surely it wasn't what she thought it was?

**2.40pm, road near Los Banos, California**

There had been silence in the car since their last stop, and all three of the adults inside were assuming that it was going to stay that way. Megan was still fast asleep, much to Kim's relief, and Miguel and Kim had been listening to the radio. Suddenly, the DJ announced some breaking news from Los Angeles, and Alex turned up the radio slightly.

"We have unconfirmed reports of a mushroom cloud rising above the city, but so far there has been no official word on the cause. The FBI and other federal agencies have declined to give us any information on what might be going on," she announced, and Kim pulled out her cell, before quickly dialling the number for CTU.

"CTU, Mason," George answered, before he heard Kim talking in the background.

"Mr Mason, it's Kim Bauer. We just heard on the news that a mushroom cloud has appeared over Los Angeles, but it's probably not the nuke, right?," Kim asked, and George looked around with surprise. No one had told him of any mushroom cloud over the city, and if it had been the nuke, CTU would have been obliterated due to it's location in central Los Angeles.

"It's definitely not the nuke, Kim. Look, a mushroom cloud could be caused by a few things, as long as there is enough explosive power. Probably a large gas explosion somewhere," George replied, much to Kim's relief.

**2.45pm, Factory, outskirts of Los Angeles**

As the intense flames and heat forced their way out of the burning building, the fire fighters waiting close by looked at it in awe. Even though some of them had seen some huge fires in the city before, this one was gigantic. Fire fighter Jack Clarke, a short man with dark hair, walked up to the main officer in charge, Karen Logan.

"Ms Logan? We're getting panicky 911 calls from people thinking that this blast is some sort of bomb. I think we need to contact your reporter friend so they can clear this up," Jack informed her, and she nodded. 15 years of experience as a fire fighter told her that sometimes, people would see something like a mushroom cloud or really thick smoke, and think of the worst case scenario. Here in this situation, no one had even been in the factory, and the fire fighters were simply waiting for the fire to burn itself out as it was too dangerous to enter the old building. Taking off her helmet, she took out the cell phone she always kept with her whilst on duty, and dialled her friend's number.

**2.50pm, Visalia, California**

Jack and Nina were now sat in the cars waiting to return to the airport with the FBI agents and Faheen. Jack had just tried to take Nina away by himself to deal with her, but the two FBI agents had been forceful and made him comply with the mission. Frustrated at how Nina was slowly slipping further and further away from him, Jack had made a point to sit as close to her as he could, and Nina was certainly not enjoying his closeness. Looking out of the window and ignoring each other as best as they could, but Jack couldn't resist giving Nina some advice whilst they were alone in the car. She noticed him looking at her, and she turned around to face him.

"You keep trying to get away, keep trying to escape, Nina, and I won't give a damn who sees me kill you," Jack told her, but she appeared unfazed by his threat. She knew that he would take any chance he got to kill her, that wasn't news to her, and she wondered if Jack even thought he was convincing her in any way by threatening her.

"I don't think you'll get many more chances, Jack," Nina replied, and Jack looked as if he was going to strangle her, the only thing stopping him was the entry of an FBI agent into the car.

**2.55pm, road west of Los Banos, California**

the radio had just announced that the mushroom cloud had been caused by a huge fire, much to their relief. All three knew people who lived in Los Angeles, and it had been a tense wait for the news. Getting ever closer to San Jose, Alex wondered how Jack and Nina were doing, and decided to contact CTU as soon as he had dropped Kim, Miguel and Megan off. Hoping that they were making some progress, Alex couldn't help but wonder just how Jack was coping.

_**14:59:57**_

_**14:59:58**_

_**14:59:59**_

_**15:00:00**_


	8. The Journeys That We Make

**3.00pm, Factory, outskirts of Los Angeles**

The fire was starting to become manageable now, and the clouds of smoke had begun to recede, although there was still a fairly large tower of black smoke over the now destroyed building. As hoses of water were forced onto the flames, onlookers from behind a cordon watched with awe as the fire fighters brought the fire under control.

**3.05pm, road west of Los Banos, California**

Another stop had been taken, and Alex was once more on the phone to CTU. He had no idea what was going on back in LA, and so these calls were the only link he had to CTU until he got to San Jose.

"There's not been much change from earlier, Alex. I mean, we've got a few new leads and Jack and Nina have been to Visalia and that's been rather successful. I've called CTU San Jose, and they're expecting you there after you drop off Kim, Megan and Miguel," Michelle informed him

"OK. Look, what's going to happen to her once the threat has been stopped?," Alex asked, careful not to mention Nina's name even though the other three could not hear him.

"She'll probably be brought back to CTU until a flight to the arranged exile destination can be arranged," Michelle informed him. Alex was hoping that he could talk to her before she left the United States, and have another chance to try and get through to the old Nina.

"What about Jack? He's probably gonna try something if he can, and to be honest, I would be surprised if he didn't take the first chance he got," Alex asked.

"She'll have guards with her at all times until she leaves CTU. Up until today, all I knew about her was from what you, Tony and others have said about her, and now I've seen her, heard her and even got a fairly good idea of what sort of person she is. I can't understand why she is the way she is," Michelle spoke. Nina Myers was something of a dark legend around CTU branches across the country, and nearly every CTU agent who had ever worked with her or had any sort of connection to her had been investigated in the months after her arrest, Alex included. Noone else was arrested, though, and the investigations soon ended.

"She wasn't always like this, Michelle. Maybe one day, I'll tell you about our childhood and how she was before the arrest. It's as if she's a whole different person," Alex replied sadly.

**3.15pm, aiport, Visalia, California**

As Jack, Nina, Faheen and the two FBI agents entered the plane, Jack instructed Nina and Faheen to sit on certain seats. He wanted to keep them as much under control as possible, and hoped that they could use the flight to try and get something out of Faheen, especially as they knew that Nina was right – bringing him to CTU LA and bringing him further into the system would only make things worse for them. Sitting down himself, Jack began to sort out the communications equipment they were to use to keep in touch with CTU.

"Hi Jack, it's Michelle," Michelle spoke as Jack called CTU.

"I can hear you perfect, Michelle. How are Alex and Kim doing?," Jack asked, and Nina's attention temporarily turned to Jack at the mention of her brother's name in the same sentence as that of Jack's daughter.

"They're about an hour away from San Jose. Alex is coming back here as soon as he can," Michelle replied, and Jack was relieved to hear the news. His daughter would be safely in San Jose thanks to Alex.

**3.15pm, road west of Los Banos, California**

Alex was trying not to think about Nina, but it was hard as she seemed to be strongly involved with the events that were going on. The moment earlier when he had seen her being brought into CTU was the first time since he had visited her in jail, where they were separated by a thick sheet of plexiglass and communicated via telephone. There had a long gap of about eight months where she had refused to see anyone, and Alex had never found out why. Kim looked at him and saw that he seemed troubled.

"Is everything OK, Alex?," Kim asked, and Alex was snapped out his train of thought.

"Yeah, I'm just concerned about this threat. I've never had to work to stop such a massive threat before," Alex replied.

**3.20pm, Aunt Carol's house, San Jose**

Tall, skinny, with the same curly brown hair and blue eyes that her sister had, Carol O'Neill was the aunt that Kim was hoping to see in about an hour. Carol was waiting anxiously in her living room, watching the news for anything out of Los Angeles. All she knew was that there was a threat in Los Angeles, that CTU were taking care of it, and that her niece was travelling north to stay with her until the threat was over. Single and unmarried, Carol lived alone with a pair of cats, and it was the life she preferred. Teri had always been the outgoing, popular one whilst she was the bookish kid who wanted nothing more than to sit in a quiet place and read. Petting one of her cats, a black male called Charcoal, she looked at the clock. She had been told that along with Kim, there was also her boyfriend and a young girl she was looking after, and that Alex Myers was driving them to San Jose. She had only met Alex once, at Teri's funeral, and was glad that he was there for Kim.

**3.25pm, plane south of Visalia, California**

Jack looked over at Nina and Faheen, who were quietly conversing in Arabic. Asking Michelle what they saying was useless, as their voices were too low. He looked at Faheen, who appeared to be halfway through a monologue, and it looked as if he was telling Nina something very crucial.

"Nina, what did he tell you?," Jack asked, and a glint of cruelty flashed in her eyes. Slowly and discreetly removing a broken gift card that she had stolen from Faheen's shop, she quietly removed her harness.

"Everything," Nina replied, and before anyone could react, she pounced at Faheen and slashed open his throat with the gift card. The last thing Faheen saw was Nina grinning at him as his vision blurred, before she was restrained by one of the FBI agents.

"He's dead, Jack," the other agent informed him, kneeling close to Faheen's body.

As Faheen's body grew cold on the floor of the plane, and as the spooked FBI agents looked at Jack and Nina with shock, Nina was very satisfied with herself. She had taken out the only other person who could have helped CTU stop the nuke, and now she was able to once more take control of the situation.

**3.35pm, road west of Los Banos, California**

"Did CTU say anything about what my father was doing?," Kim asked Alex.

"No, but he's probably following up on a lead somewhere. CTU seem to be quite confident that they'll find this nuke long before it can be used to harm anyone," Alex replied. He could only imagine what was happening with Jack and Nina. Jack had wanted to kill Nina even before he had known that she had killed Teri, and Alex hoped that Jack would not put his much wanted revenge over the lives of millions of innocents. Megan, who was listening to the pair speak, looked at Kim.

"What did they do with my daddy?," she asked, and Kim looked at Alex through the rear view mirror as if to silently ask him.

"He's at CTU where he'll be safe for now. We'll find out more when we get to San Jose, OK?," Alex replied, unaware that Matheson was now lying in a morgue drawer next to the one which contained his wife. He hoped that Megan had some other relative who could look after her, because there was no chance any of her parents would be able to.

"When will that be?," Megan enquired, and Alex checked the clock on the dashboard.

"Just over an hour to go. Kim's auntie is going to look after you for a while, but I have to go back to Los Angeles when we get there," Alex told her.

"Why don't you stay in San Jose with us, Alex? I'm sure CTU will understand," Kim asked. She was already concerned for her father who she thought was still in Los Angeles.

"I have to go back, Kim, but as soon as we stop this threat, I'll call you so you don't have to worry about either me or your father," Alex replied. He had considered staying in San Jose, but knew that he couldn't do that to his friends back at CTU.

**3.45pm, plane south of Visalia, California**

Nina was now shackled to a chair close to where Jack had been sitting, and she closed her eyes as a soft ray of light came in through the window and illuminated her. Jack looked at her and decided to sit close to her. As he sat down, Nina noticed the movement and opened her eyes, but said nothing.

"Sunday before you killed my wife...Teri and I went down to the board walk in Venice. Just watching all the rollerbladers and musicians, laughing at the crazy people...spending time together....And Teri sees this snowcone stand," Jack began. He was speaking from his mind, showing her just how much her actions had affected him, but she showed no emotion as he spoke.

"She giggles like a kid, takes off running, wants to get in line, she wants one....I remember, I was watching, I...I couldn't help myself. When I looked up at her she was talking with this old lady in line behind her and the two of them were laughing. And I remember thinking to myself, "How the hell does she do that? How does she strike up a conversation with an absolute stranger, and...and they just start laughing? Like they've been friends forever?" That's a gift. I remember thinking, "God, I wish I could do that." But I can't. That was Teri...my wife....That's what you took from this world, Nina. That's what you took from me, and my daughter. I just wanted you to know that," Jack finished, and throughout Nina had hardly moved or shown any reaction. He wondered if she was even really listening, and as he tried to not let her indifference affect him, he realised that he didn't need her to react, he had just needed to tell her what he had just said.

Jack was about to return to his seat, when a huge explosion rocked the side of the plane. Looking at Nina, he saw the panic and confusion in her eyes, and it was his turn to be satisfied even though he knew that he might only have minutes left to live. Remembering his mission, Jack decided to act.

"Tell us where the bomb is, Nina, please!," Jack pleaded with her, but she stayed silent. One of the FBI agents stuck a gun into the side of her head and repeated Jack's question.

"Put the gun down! She won't talk, it's no use. I'm going to contact CTU," Jack spoke, before he started to move with great difficulty towards the cockpit of the plane.

**3.50pm, CTU Los Angeles**

As George, Tony and Michelle listened to Jack, they hoped that he and Nina – although for entirely different reasons – would survive the crash. They had decided to try and crash land in a dry river bed, which would give them the best chance of surviving.

"Is she not talking, Jack?," George asked regarding Nina. The whole day had been one disaster after another, and now it looked as if their only chance at stopping the nuke was slipping away fast.

"No, George, she isn't. Look, I'll try and contact you as soon as possible after we crash land," Jack replied, and his voice was quickly replaced by static.

**3.55pm, road east of Gilroy, California**

Less than an hour away from San Jose, and the sun was pouring through the windscreen and into Alex's eyes. Pulling down the sun shade, he took his eyes off the road for a second, and it was a second too much as the car hurtled towards a fallen tree trunk. Slamming on the brakes was no use, and as the car smashed into the tree with an ominous thud, all four of the car's occupants were knocked out, and the only sound that came from the car was the horn, as if to alert someone to the accident.

_**15:59:57**_

_**15:59:58**_

_**15:59:59**_

_**16:00:00**_


	9. The Bruises That They Suffer

**4.00pm, plane crash site, south of Visalia, California**

As Jack woke up, pain ran through his body and he groaned loudly. Attempting to stand up, he noticed a stick stuck into his leg and gritted his teeth before pulling it out with one quick movement. Looking around him, he saw nothing but carnage – bits of the plane were everywhere, and it was only by chance that he managed to see one of the FBI agents, who was laid on the ground and bleeding heavily. Rushing over to him, he tried to see how he could help the agent.

"Myers...," the agent spoke weakly, and Jack nodded. The search and rescue team would be here soon, and he needed to find Nina quickly. Searching through the immediate area, he found no sign of her, until he looked down a small hill and noticed a small figure partly hidden under one of the plane seats. Running down to her, he got Nina out of the chair, before lying her on her back and beginning to perform CPR on her, even though he wanted nothing more than to watch her slowly die. Knowing that that would end any realistic chances of them stopping the nuke, he continued until he felt her begin to breath by herself. Quickly moving from over her to let her breath, he watched as she coughed a few times, and when she noticed that he had saved her, she turned away from him, as if she didn't want him to know that she was grateful.

**4.05pm, car crash site, west of Los Banos, California**

Alex's cell phone was ringing, but Michelle was concerned as he wasn't picking up. Luckily for him, the ringing alerted a local who had been walking alongside the road, and who was now running towards the crashed vehicle.

"Hello?," the man asked as he picked up the phone, and a surprised Michelle wondered who it was.

"Who is this? Where is the person that the phone belongs to?," Michelle asked, as her concern grew.

"My name is Marshall Webb, ma'am. I found this phone ringing in a car that's crashed into a tree. There's four people unconscious in there, ma'am, so if you don't mind I would like to call 911 and get them some medical help," Marshall replied.

"Look, can you stay with the car until the ambulance gets there, and tell them that the driver is Alex Myers, a CTU agent, and that none of the people inside must be brought back to Los Angeles, they have to go to San Jose," Michelle informed him.

"Sure, ma'am," Marshall spoke, and he leaned on the tree trunk and called 911.

**4.10pm, plane crash site, south of Visalia, California**

As Jack guided a now handcuffed Nina through the wreckage, they noticed soldiers close to the injured FBI agent that Jack had found moments before. Watching with curiosity, they were shocked when the soldiers shot the agent dead, and Jack instinctively pulled himself and Nina down to the ground, and seconds later a soldier came close to where they were. Shooting him with a flare gun that he had found within the wreckage, the soldier screamed as the red smoke engulfed his body. Their cover blown, the pair ran for cover, and Jack knew that they would have to fight the soldiers.

"You need to cooperate fully with me now, Nina, or we're both dead. You understand?," Jack told her, more concerned than angry. Instructing her to find a place from where she could spot the soldiers, he gave her the ammunition for the machine gun that Jack had taken from the soldier he had shot with the flare gun.

**4.15pm, car crash site, west of Los Banos, California**

Marshall looked up as the ambulance came speeding towards the car. Looking into the vehicle, he noticed that Alex was slowly waking up. Walking around to the driver's window, he looked at the younger man.

"Hey, you Alex Myers? Your friend called asking about you. The ambulance is here now, and she said to tell them about you being a CTU agent and not to send any of you back to Los Angeles," Marshall informed him. Looking up at the grey haired and blue eyed Marshall, Alex was trying to recall where he was.

"What? Where am I?," Alex asked, his voice croaky.

"You've been in a car crash, and you were on your way to San Jose," Marshall told him, and Alex suddenly remembered. Trying to turn around to check on Kim, he groaned as he moved, and Marshall looked even more concerned.

"Try not to move," Marshall told him as the paramedics rushed towards the car. One was a tall man with auburn hair, brown eyes and a tanned complexion, whilst the other was a woman of average height, with blonde hair and grey eyes.

"The driver is a CTU agent, his name is Alex Myers. They need to be taken to San Jose, or somewhere nearby," Marshall informed the paramedics as Alex managed to slowly get out of the car, before falling to the ground. Thanking Marshall as he helped Alex get up, he turned around and saw Megan looking worried, before opening the door and lifting the girl out of the car. Luckily, she had suffered no injuries, and they were soon joined by Kim, who had a bleeding gash on her forehead.

"Kim, you should sit down, you're bleeding," Alex told her, helping her to sit down at the edge of the driver's seat, before the male paramedic came to look at her injuries. Kim looked up at him.

"So are you," Kim told him, and Alex looked at his reflection in the car window. Noticing a cut close to his eye, he touched it gently. Looking into the car, he noticed Miguel was squashed into his seat, and was not responding to the paramedic's attempts to wake him up.

**4.25pm, plane crash site, south of Visalia, California**

Jack had managed to eliminate most of the soldiers, and as Nina passed him what he thought was the last magazine of ammunition, he clicked it in and took out the last couple of soldiers. Overhead, he saw the search and rescue helicopter circling them, and as he dropped the automatic weapon he had been using, he took out an handgun, prepared to deal with any more soldiers who might be hiding. What he didn't realise was that Nina had kept a magazine for herself, and had managed to grab the gun. It was only when Nina clicked the safety off that he realised.

"Stop right there, Jack," Nina ordered him. He had been close to killing her numerous times that day, and she was now convinced that he would chase after her once she was in exile. Jack dropped his gun and placed his hands at the back of his head, wondering whether it was right to blame himself for this situation.

"Hey, drop the gun! It's over!," one of the tac team that had come in the helicopter shouted at Nina, but she ignored the command.

"She's our only hope of stopping the nuke!," Jack shouted, and the tac team realised that Nina was in control.

"I want to speak with President Palmer!," Nina demanded. She knew that she had to make sure that getting rid of Jack was nice and legitimate, so as not to ruin her pardon.

**4.30pm, car crash site, west of Los Banos, California**

As Miguel was placed into the ambulance on the stretcher, Alex, Kim and Megan joined him in the back of the ambulance, where there was room for the three to sit. Having taken everything out of his car, Alex had called CTU San Jose, who would take the car into their possession until Alex could retrieve it. Looking over at Kim, who was holding Miguel's hand tightly, he hoped that Miguel would pull through.

"Kim, maybe we should call your aunt, tell her about the accident so she knows where you are?." Alex suggested to her, hoping to take her mind off of the horrible injuries Miguel was suffering from. Nodding, Kim sat down and pulled out her cell phone.

**4.35pm, Northwest Region Operations Complex, Oregon **

"David, we've got a problem with Nina Myers. She's got Jack Bauer hostage and she's demanding to speak with you," Mike Novick informed the President, who looked shocked at the news.

"What does she want? We already pardoned her," Palmer asked, but Novick jut shrugged.

"I have no idea, but I think you need to speak to her. She's got information we need if we want to stop this bomb," Novick replied, and as Palmer nodded in agreement, Novick pressed a button on the telephone.

"Ms Myers, the President is on the line," Mike Novick informed her, and Nina knew exactly what she needed to say, and exactly what needed to be done to ensure her future safety.

"Ms Myers, we've already given you a pardon. What else do you want?," Palmer asked her, trying to keep his voice calm and cool. It was useless to be angry towards a terrorist who had all the power in the situation. Clearing her throat, Nina thought one last time of how to word her demand, before speaking.

"I want to be pardoned in advance. For the murder of Jack Bauer," Nina spoke, her eyes trained on the back of Jack's head. Palmer looked at Novick with horror. Jack, who was not surprised at all by the demand, decided to speak up.

"Mr President, it's Jack. Look, I think you need to accept her demands. I'm not worth the lives of millions of innocents. Just make sure that my daughter is safe," Jack spoke, and Palmer could feel his eyes welling up.

"Jack, I don't know what to say, except I'm sorry. I'm sorry it's come to this, and I promise you that your daughter will be safe," Palmer replied. Clearing his throat, he knew that he could buy time for Jack by giving Nina a condition.

"Ms Myers? We'll grant you your pardon, on the following conditions – that you tell us where Syed Ali is, and that you wait until we have the nuclear bomb secured. Then, and only then, can you carry out the murder of Jack Bauer," Palmer told her.

"That's fine with me," Nina replied.

**4.40pm, ambulance, Gilroy, California**

As the ambulance travelled through the Northern Californian city of Gilroy, Kim held Megan in her arms and Alex looked aimlessly out of the one way window of the ambulance doors. His head felt light, and he was sure that his injuries were probably worse than they looked, and decided to see the medics at CTU San Jose once he got there. They had arranged for Kim's Aunt Carol to meet them at the hospital, and then Carol would take Alex to CTUSJ.

**4.45pm, road, San Jose, California**

Carol was already on her way to the hospital, and as her little red Volkswagen Beetle travelled through the city, she kept the radio on for any news from Los Angeles. Alex had assured her that CTU were close to stopping the threat, and that it was very unlikely that the plot would succeed, but even his assurances did not stop her from worrying. She not not been told of the extent of Miguel's injuries, although she did know that Alex and Kim had minor cuts and bruises, whilst Megan had escaped from the crash unharmed.

**4.50pm, plane crash site, south of Visalia, California**

Nina had given CTU the location of Syed Ali, and now everyone was simply waiting for the moment when Nina could kill Jack and once and for all guarantee her safety. He, however, had other plans, and as he noticed where the tac team were, he stood up. Nina, who was keeping a close eye on him, warned him to sit back down.

"Do it or I'll shoot you!," Nina warned, her voice menacing.

"That would void your deal, Nina, and you'll be put straight back into prison," Jack replied, and he took a few steps forward.

"So? At least you'll be dead!," Nina spoke as she too took a few steps forward, coming out of the little alcove she had been sheltering in. One of the tac team members took their chance and shot her in her hand, sending her crashing to the floor. She attempted to grab her gun again, but was stopped. Dragged back up to her feet and handcuffed regardless of the bleeding wound in her hand, she glared at Jack as he approached her. Standing close to her, he whispered in her ear with a menacing tone.

"I'll never let you rest, and I'll never stop hunting you down, Nina," Jack told her, before walking away from her. Turning around to face the direction he had gone, Nina looked shocked at the statement, and realised that she had missed probably her best chance to rid herself of Jack Bauer.


	10. The Angst That We Feel

**5.00pm, Northwest Region Operations Complex, Oregon**

President Palmer was visibly relieved as he was informed that Jack Bauer was safe and Nina Myers was in custody. Informing CTU to keep Nina in Los Angeles until the threat was well and truly over, so that she would be in the same situation as millions of other people, he had a look of deep satisfaction on his face.

"It went well, David. I think you handled that as good as you could have done," Novick spoke. He had worked with David for years, and the President had always shown such determination and ability to make hard decisions.

"Thanks, Mike. I can't take the credit for the outcome, that's all Jack's," Palmer replied. He admired the bravery of the CTU agent, and could only be glad that Jack was on his and the country's side.

**5.05pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California**

As Alex, Kim and Megan got out of the back of the ambulance, a worried Aunt Carol rushed up to them and embraced her niece, before looking at Alex.

"Thank you so much, Alex," Carol spoke gratefully.

"It's OK, Carol, I'm just glad that Kim is out of danger now," Alex replied. As paramedics took an unconscious Miguel out of the ambulance, Kim looked at him with anxiety.

"Kim, will you be OK here whilst I take Alex to CTU San Jose?," Carol asked her niece, who nodded, although she would have preferred for him to stay in San Jose.

As Miguel was wheeled into the hospital, Kim squeezed his hand tightly. She had been told by the paramedics that he might have suffered brain damage, and would probably be in a coma for at least a few hours. His face was slightly paler than normal, which worried her, but the doctors had said that he would most likely make a full recovery thanks to treatment being administered soon after the accident.

Whilst the trio walked towards the car, Alex was feeling slightly concerned. It was already late in the afternoon, and the intelligence that CTU had pointed to the nuke going off by the end of the day. Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, he could only hope that the threat would be stopped and he could try to return to some sort of normality, which had been very much absent from his life for a year and a half.

**5.10pm, helicopter, Los Angeles**

As the helicopter carrying Jack and Nina flew over the city on it's way to CTU, Jack was looking at Nina, who seemed uncomfortable as they moved deeper into LA skies, and Jack could sense this.

"You seem doubtful that we can stop this nuke, Nina," Jack commented, and she flashed him an angry glare. Although minutes before she had been closer to terrified of him than she had ever been, she was now not so scared of him and was not intent on allowing him any more fun at her expense.

"You couldn't stop me, Jack, could you?," Nina replied with an arrogant tone, and Jack was close to springing out his chair and hitting her, but he told himself that it she was looking for just such a reaction from him.

"Comparing yourself to a nuke, Nina? You think you're that dangerous?," Jack retorted, and Nina decided to ignore him. She knew that she would soon be away from him, and that she was hours away from some sort of freedom that was better than the situation she had been stuck in since her arrest. They hadn't just left her to rot in jail – they had dragged her back and forth on many occasions, attempting to extract any information that they could, but she had not given them a single sentence of usable intelligence.

**5.15pm, road, San Jose, California**

Megan was sitting quietly in the back of Carol's car, as Carol had decided that Kim needed to be alone with Miguel. Meanwhile, Alex and Carol were talking quietly as they made the journey from the hospital to CTUSJ.

"I still feel as if she died yesterday," Carol spoke, and Alex knew that she was referring to Teri, and he could only hope that news of Nina's pardon would not reach her, especially as she had been badly affected both mentally and physically by her sister's death.

"She's at rest now, Carol. All you can do is move on," Alex replied gently. He knew that Jack and Kim had been trying to do just that, with Kim having slightly more success than Jack had, although he was still blaming himself for his wife's death, almost as if he had pulled the trigger himself.

"It's hard when you've lost the person you were closest to," Carol replied sadly, her blue eyes watering slightly. Teri's death had meant an abrupt change for Carol that she was just not ready for. She had not expected to lose her sister at such a young age, and now the days wore on so slowly without the regular telephone conversations she used to have with her sister. Alex had not lost Nina in the same way as she had lost Teri, and knew that he couldn't understand what it was to lose a sibling. A parent, yes – both his parents were dead – but not a brother or sister.

**5.25pm, CTU Los Angeles**

For the second time today, Nina Myers was led through CTU, shackled, to the holding room where she would be kept until the threat was over. Michelle had managed to keep Tony busy so that he didn't have to see Nina, and as the former CTU agent was brought past her, Michelle couldn't help but stare. As Nina was taken around the corner and out of view, Michelle looked around at the mess that CTU had become, with rubble everywhere and dried blood on the floor and walls. It was a reminder to Michelle, a plea from those who had died to make sure that the nuke was secure and the people of Los Angeles saved from a disaster.

**5.30pm, CTU San Jose, San Jose, California**

Carol had just dropped Alex off, and as he entered the building, he noticed that almost everyone inside was staring at him, and he had a good idea why. Deciding that he didn't need the annoyance, he stood near to the centre of the bullpen until there was silence.

"OK, so I'm her brother. That does not make me anything like her, and it does not mean that I'm a terrorist or a mole. Now, I'm just here for a few minutes until I get onto a helicopter and go back to Los Angeles to help stop this nuke. Does that sound like the action of a terrorist? To head towards danger?," Alex spoke, before noticing a middle-aged man with balding black hair and large brown eyes. The other agents decided that Alex wasn't interesting any more and returned to their work – Alex could understand the curiosity that any CTU agent would have about anyone so closely associated with Nina Myers, but that didn't mean that he just accepted being stared at, or even on rare occasions shouted, and once an agent had even pointed a gun at him simply for being Nina's brother. Of course, the man had been drunk, so Alex had let that one go as the gun had turned out to be empty.

"Hello Agent Myers, I'm Henry Jones, Special Agent in Charge here. The helicopter's waiting for you now," Henry spoke as the pair shook hands. He hoped that Alex didn't think too badly of CTUSJ, and Alex confirmed that he didn't as they walked towards the helicopter.

**5.35pm, Syed Ali's house, Los Angeles**

Having taken out the one remaining terrorist, Jack approached the shaking blonde woman slowly. Looking up at him with terrified blue eyes, Jack assured her that he was there to help her.

"I'm Jack, I work for CTU. What's your name?," Jack asked as he crouched down close to the woman.

"Kate Warner. My father was taken to CTU earlier, along with my sister and the man she's engaged to," Kate replied.

"OK. Look, I'm going to take you to CTU now, where we'll get a doctor to look at you, and then we need to ask you a few questions if that's alright with you?," Jack asked as he helped Kate to her feet.

**5.40pm, Holding Room 1, CTU Los Angeles**

Unlike her last stay in the holding room, Nina wasn't looking around at her surroundings. Now, she had her eyes fixed on the door, not sure when or if anyone would come through there. Knowing that Jack would be busy in the field trying to stop the nuke, she mentally gambled with herself as to who would be first to come into the room, and how long she would be left alone before they did. She expected Tony or Mason, and was surprised when a woman she didn't know walked into the room, although she had seen this female agent before when she was originally brought into CTU. She appeared to be a similar age and height to Nina, with brown eyes, curly brown hair and a look of curiosity on her face, and Nina could only assume that she was the person who had replaced her.

"Hello Nina, my name is Michelle Dessler," Michelle announced as she sat down opposite Nina, who decided not to reply, her cold eyes fixed on Michelle, who tried not to return the stare.

"As I'm sure you've been told, you are to be held here until the nuke threat is eliminated. Afterwards, you will be taken by plane to a US base somewhere in North Africa where you will have a limited amount of freedom. Do you understand your pardon and the consequences of breaking the conditions?," Michelle asked her.

"Yes," Nina replied abruptly, not impressed with the newcomer. She could tell that the agent was slightly fearful of her, even though she was shackled and Michelle was armed. Although Nina had little idea, she was something of a dark legend amongst CTU staff new and experienced, and her name and actions were known to almost every CTU agent in the country

"Do you have any more information that could help the investigation?," Michelle asked, although she knew that it would be impossible her to get anything out of Nina unless it was in her interests. Nina looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, deciding if she did have any useful information.

"No," Nina replied, and Michelle decided to accept the answer. Checking the time, she knew that Alex would be returning to CTU soon. Ever since finding out about Nina, she had been curious about Alex and Nina, their childhood and their lives before Nina was arrested, but Michelle had decided not to ask him. Standing up, she didn't turn around but simply looked at Nina, apprehensive about whether to say something that was on her mind.

"Do you regret anything, Nina?," Michelle asked, and Nina looked up at her with confusion. Here was this agent who she didn't know, asking her if she regretted any of her actions.

"Some things, yes. Others, not at all," Nina responded, a smirk beginning to form on her face, and she wondered if Michelle could tell what things she was talking about.

**5.55pm, CTU Los Angeles**

The helicopter had just landed on the helipad, and Michelle was there to greet Alex.

"Thanks for coming back, Alex, we need all the help we can get," Michelle spoke as the pair headed back inside CTU.

"I had no intention of staying in San Jose, and I couldn't abandon you now. How are Jack and Nina?," Alex asked, hoping that neither had killed the other since his last call to CTU.

"Around the time of your car crash, their plane was shot down. Both survived, but Nina managed to take Jack hostage. She's here now, in a holding room and Jack's out following up on the information Nina gave us," Michelle replied, and Alex didn't find any of it surprising. In fact, he would have found it more strange if Nina had not tried something, if the plan had not been shot out of the sky, if things had been normal between Jack and Nina when they were together.

"Is it OK if I talk to her?," Alex asked, and Michelle nodded.

_**17:59:57**_

_**17:59:58**_

_**17:59:59**_

_**18:00:00**_


	11. The Conversations That Revealed Truth

**6.00pm, CTU Los Angeles**

As Alex walked towards the holding room where Nina was being held, he could only think about the few times he had seen her since her arrest. He remembered the visit to her in prison a few weeks afterwards, the couple of times he had gone to her trial, the visits he made to the jail she was in after she had been found guilty, and the moment just a few hours earlier when she had been brought back into CTU. Touching the door handle gently, he waited a few seconds before opening the door quietly. Nina didn't even notice at first, and she made no visible reaction to Alex as he walked into the room.

"Hello, Nina," Alex said as he sat down at the table. Her tired eyes showed no real reaction or emotion, and he wasn't surprised. He himself tried to mimic her lack of emotion, but couldn't help the flash of anger and regret that crossed his own eyes.

"Hello," Nina replied, and Alex could tell that she was hiding some emotion. Whether that was because she had almost killed her brother once and was close to doing so again, or because she was worried that the nuke would go off with her still stuck in the city, Alex had no idea. Standing close to the table that Nina was sat at – and which Jack had almost broken a few hours prior – he looked straight at Nina's face, and the bandage that was wrapped around her head. Alex noted that although she looked injured, there was nothing to suggest that Nina was even bothered by the injury – this wasn't surprising, as Nina had held out bravely for many months during her regular interrogation sessions after her arrest.

"How much involvement do you have, Nina?," Alex asked, although he got the feeling that any answer from Nina would be, as usual, mysterious, and that he could ask her the question over and over again and still he wouldn't get a satisfactory answer. Nina cocked her head and looked deep in thought, and Alex glanced over at the clock. Less than six hours left of the day meant that there was less than six hours left to save Los Angeles.

"Enough to buy my freedom, Alex," Nina replied, her voice firm. If it wasn't in her interest, she wouldn't even give someone the date or the name of the President, and she had stuck to this principle for a long time, and it had worked out well for her.

"What about the bomb attack on CTU? You sold those plans months before I transferred here. Would my death not mean anything to you, Nina?," Alex asked, and he hated how his voice had a slight quiver. Eye contact was broken for a split second, before his eyes moved back to gaze at hers. Nina seemed to be thinking of an answer – she had really not meant to put Alex in danger, but it was the only way she could ever bid for her freedom, to sell information. That was what she did, and she was an expert in the subject.

"It would have been impossible to change anything by then, Alex," Nina spoke, and she too took a quick glance at the clock. She had no idea when the nuke was going to go off, and was getting more anxious as the evening wore on. The last thing she wanted was to gain her freedom back only to be obliterated by a nuke. Of course, the thought of Jack Bauer being caught up in the nuke as well was a source of comfort for Nina, or at least the part of her that didn't still love him. She knew that she was not going to be released before the nuke either went off or was secured, and wished that she had been successful in her attempt to kill Jack back at the crash site. Rubbing her bandaged hand gently, she returned her gaze to Alex, who seemed to be lost in thought himself. Suddenly, his eyes moved quickly to look at her.

"How long will it be before you escape back to a life of terrorism, Nina? We both know that you won't just stay where the government wants you, and we both know that you have this self-destructive, sociopathic urge to get yourself into trouble. Do you have a plan yet, or will whoever you work for next get you out of there?," Alex asked, his voice quieter, calmer. His last question reminded Nina of Jack's own query after she had announced her need to go to Visalia, and although Nina knew that Alex did not have Jack's temper, she could tell there was a similarity in how they had phrased their questions.

"There's no plan, Alex, and I have no contacts any more," Nina replied, somewhat truthfully. True, there was no escape plan in the works, but she was lying about the contacts. Those were stored in her head, a huge directory of addresses, names and numbers that she used to her advantage and which was one of the reasons why she had to be so stubborn when the time came for them to try and get information out of her, because if she gave in, she could bring down entire terrorist groups. Moles in every federal agency would be arrested, sleeper cells would be rounded up, warehouses full of weapons would be seized.

"You think Jack will try and hunt you down, Nina? Try and get his revenge?," Alex asked, his hands leaning on the table and his head close to Nina's. She looked at the bruise on his face from the car crash for a moment with curiosity – she had not noticed it at first, but now she could see the whole black-blue mess in its entirety – before returning her eyes to his.

"I have no doubt that he will, Alex, but he has to think about Kim. I'm sure he wouldn't want her to be alone," Nina replied, before a small smirk appeared on her face. She knew that Jack would not risk hurting his daughter no matter what, and if she did manage to escape from wherever they were going to send her, she would make sure that he could never find her. Alex had decided that he had heard enough, and stood up straight.

"Someone will come in when it's time for your flight," Alex informed her, and he knew that she had to be forgotten about for at least a few hours, if he was going to be of any use to CTU.

**6.20pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California**

Kim was sat next to Miguel's bed, nervously holding his hand tightly in her own much smaller hand. She wanted to know more about what was happening in Los Angeles, but cell phones weren't allowed and she didn't want to leave Miguel alone, even though the doctors had told her that he was stable, Sighing quietly, she looked out of the wide window that almost stretched to each corner of the room, and she could see the blue sky, a calming colour. Suddenly, one of the machines that Miguel was connected to began to make an ominous noise, and Kim jumped up out of her chair.

"Someone! Come quickly!," Kim shouted, and the door sprang open before a doctor and nurse came rushing into the room. Asking Kim to make some room, the doctor checked Miguel's pulse whilst the nurse examined the bleeping machine.

"He's losing a lot of blood, we need to take him to the OR!," announced the doctor, a short woman in her fourties who looked like she was good at her job. The nurse, a taller man in his thirties, nodded before taking a sympathetic look at Kim. As they wheeled Miguel out of the room, Kim followed close behind, trying hard not to break down.

**6.25pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Splashing some water over his face, Alex looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. The injuries from the bomb blast and the crash were evident, and the bruises dominated his face. He knew he was lucky – so many people had been killed by the bombs, and Miguel was lying in a San Jose hospital bed in a coma. Walking out of the bathroom, he approached the bullpen, where Mason was looking at him.

"Not looking too great there are you, Alex?," the older agent commented, before coughing into his by now well-used tissue. Alex looked at him with concern – he knew that Mason had been exposed to radioactive material, and the man looked like it too.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't feel like it, George," Alex spoke, but Mason shook his head slowly.

"Nah, I need to be here, I need to stop this nuke. Besides, there's nothing to do outside of this building for me now. I would rather do what I can to help, you know?," Mason replied, before taking a sip of water. Walking over to his station, Alex turned to see George slowly stand up before beginning to head towards the toilets. He didn't know how long George had left, nor could he really understand just what George was going through, and he knew that alongside the millions of innocent people they were trying to save, George was there with them, even if he was dying.

**6.35pm, ****O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California**

Kim was now sat in the waiting room close to the OR, waiting for any news of Miguel. The room was sparse, with a couple of chairs that were bolted to the ground and a vending machine that offered a small variety of hot drinks. The walls were a sickly green, which contrasted greatly with the dull orange carpet. Someone at the door caught her attention and, as she stood up to walk towards the surgeon, she studied his face for any sign of what news to expect.

"Miss Bauer, I have some good and some bad news. We managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage that was causing the bleeding. However, we discovered that Mr Casey's right leg was damaged beyond repair, and we had to amputate it," the surgeon, a kindly middle-aged black man with a salt and pepper beard, spoke with a quiet, sympathetic voice. Horrified, Kim knew that she had to see the positives, that Miguel was alive, but she also knew that the loss of a limb would devastate him.

"Have they finished the surgery?," Kim asked, and the surgeon nodded. He could tell that Kim loved Miguel, and thought it was a great shame that such a young man could lose his leg.

"Yes, and they're taking him back to his room. He's still in a coma, and is expected to be for another few hours. Miss Bauer, do you think that you could tell Mr Casey about his leg, or should I arrange for a hospital counsellor to do so?," the surgeon informed her.

"I can tell him, thank you," Kim replied softly.

**6.40pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Nina had been asleep for the past ten or so minutes when she was woken by the sound of someone entering the room. Opening her eyes and looking straight at the person stood in front of her, she had no idea what she could say, and so decided to give him a warm smirk.

"How does it feel to have fallen so far, Nina?," Tony asked as he sat down across from his former girlfriend and colleague. Although he had gotten over her, he still found her attractive in a warped way, as if her beauty and intelligence that had attracted him to her in the first place had not been corrupted by her actions.

"Still hurting, Tony?," Nina replied, enjoying the flash of anger that crossed his face. Any attraction she had felt for him had gone as soon as he had seen her get arrested, and she couldn't resist bringing up Tony's love for her.

"Not any more, Nina, but you'll eventually get what you deserve for what you did to Jack and his family. I wish I could say that there's some part of you that doesn't deserve to burn in hell, but I can't. Not any more, Nina," Tony spoke, but Nina was unimpressed.

"Oh stop, Tony. You sound like one of those Spanish soap operas your mother likes to watch," Nina responded, recalling the time she had visited his parents. Tony bit his lip, wondering if it was a good idea to come into the room and talk to Nina.

"Do you want this bomb to go off, Nina?," Tony asked her, and Nina raised an eyebrow at the question, which sounded blunt yet accusing.

"Of course not, Tony. You may see me as a monster, but I can assure you I have no interest in seeing the bomb go off," Nina replied, allowing her voice to sound slightly indignant. She had merely used the plot as a vehicle for her escape plan, and was hoping – mostly for her own sake – that CTU would be able to stop the nuke in time. Suddenly, Michelle burst into the room, her eyes darting from Tony to Nina and back again.

"Tony, can I have a word, please?," Michelle asked calmly, and Tony nodded. Any chance to get away from Nina was going to be taken. Once the pair were outside the room, Michelle looked at Tony with concern.

"Tony, I thought you were going to keep away from her," Michelle asked, her voice calm and quiet as she stared at Tony.

"I guess I didn't, alright? Look Michelle, you know what that woman did to me, to Jack,to Alex. I can't just let her escape without at least getting some sort of explanation," Tony whispered, his head bowed slightly. Placing a hand supportively on his shoulder, Michelle looked at him.

"Tony, she'll never give that information up. All you can do is move on, and hope that she doesn't hurt anyone else," Michelle replied. Nodding, Tony began to walk back to the main bullpen, with Michelle walking alongside him. She knew that he had been hurt by Nina's betrayal, and she knew that it would take a lot of time for the mental scars to truly heal. She just wished that Nina Myers had never been involved in his life.

**18:59:57**

**18:59:58**

**18:59:59**

**19:00:00**


	12. The Hours That We Travelled

**7.00pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Noticing that Tony had just come back into the bullpen from near the holding rooms, Alex quickly realised what he had been doing and approached Tony.

"Did you talk to her?," Alex asked as Tony sat down. Taking a drink from his mug before sighing, Tony looked up at Alex.

"A little, yeah. Not the most productive conversation I've ever had," Tony replied. He knew that she was only going to be there for a few more hours, then he would never see her again – if he was lucky – but the hours seemed to be going much slower than they usually did, almost as if they had wanted him to speak to her. Not that it was of any use to anyone, and he was sure that he had just confirmed something that Nina probably thought about him.

"We'll never understand her, Tony, and we'll never understand her actions, no matter how many theories we come up with," Alex spoke, his gaze fixed on the holding room door that he could see just a tiny part of. Inside that room was his sister, or at least whatever had replaced her.

"Probably, but it doesn't hurt to try," Tony remarked, his eyes fixed on his monitor. He had spent a lot of time since that day thinking about Nina, about their relationship and whether or not her affection had been genuine or not. He knew that as he was below her in the chain of command she would know more than he did, so that made him think that she did love him in some way, but he also knew that she felt angry at being dumped by Jack for Teri, and that he was probably being used by her to get back at Jack, and that made him think that she didn't.

"How long do you think it'll be before she escapes?," Alex asked. Since her arrest, Nina was treated as unpredictable and highly dangerous by CTU, and from what intelligence they had, they knew that she would have quite a few friends willing to help her get out of jail, whether it was in California or North Africa.

"I wouldn't want to guess at all, but I'm sure it's inevitable knowing her," Tony replied. He considered himself lucky that he had only been in a short relationship with Nina for a few months, whilst Alex was her family, someone who was forever connected to her, and he had already seen and heard people whispering about Alex when he wasn't around, and he was sure that some people saw Alex as a possible terrorist himself, although an intensive investigation of CTU had found him innocent of any links to terrorism. The woman he once slept with, had kissed with passion and had cared for deeply had turned into some vicious monster willing to kill for any price. Now that he had the benefit of hindsight, he could recall a few moments where Nina had almost slipped up, even on the day she was arrested.

**7.15pm, ****O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California**

Kim was standing at the window of Miguel's room, looking down at the street below. Cut off from what was going on in Los Angeles, she could only wonder how her dad and CTU were getting on. She had not been in San Jose for some years, and the last time had been with her father and her mother, when her family had been together and not torn apart and to pieces. Her childhood, which had ended the day her mother was murdered, was happy apart from the occasional arguments that her parents had in the middle of the night, and she had been amazed that the relationship had lasted so long, and when the unsurprising separation had happened, she had been sure that her mother was to blame. She had blamed her mother for something she had no control over, and by the time she had come to terms with it all and was hoping for it to be buried in the past, her mother had been killed, her father left distraught and her life seemed to be in ruins. A knock on the door caught her attention, and as she turned around a man poked his head around the door.

"Ms Bauer? I'm Eric O'Brien, CTU San Jose. I'll be out in the corridor if you need me," O'Brien, a man in his thirties with thinning brown hair and kindly hazel eyes, spoke to her, before taking a quick glance at Miguel. Kim nodded, knowing why the agent was there -not because of any threat, but so that she could be kept up to date with events back in Los Angeles. Thanking the agent, she gazed at Miguel as the agent closed the door behind him. Miguel was not expected to wake for a while, and Kim had mixed feelings about that time, because it would mean having to tell Miguel about his amputated leg.

**7.20pm, car, Los Angeles**

Although she was sure she wasn't being followed, Marie Warner was anxious. She knew that CTU would know of her killing of Reza and the two agents, and could only hoped that she would not be arrested before the plan could be carried out. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, she tried to calm herself down, and decided to pull into an alleyway where she parked up and got out of her car. Pacing up and down, she tried to relax, before pulling out her cell. Dialling Ali's phone number, she waited for him to pick up, but moments later she was still waiting. Ending the call, she climbed back into her car and decided to head for the airport, determined not to let lack of communication ruin the plot.

**7.25pm, house, Los Angeles**

As Alex pulled up in front of the house, he looked at the small bungalow with sadness. It had been home to Erica Vasquez for many years, and Jamey Farrell had grown up there. The overgrown front garden looked like it had once been a playground for Jamey and her siblings, and Alex tried to take these thoughts out of his mind, knowing that he had an important message for Erica. Although he knew that she didn't really need to know, and that she probably would be better off not knowing, Alex also knew that Erica would want to know about her daughter's murderer being pardoned. Closing his car door gently as he climbed out, he approached the front gate, an ornate metal structure that was jet black, and walked through towards the house. The door was dark blue, and had a small window close to the top. Knocking on the door a couple of times, Alex thought of how best to break the news to Erica. The last time he had seen her was at the conclusion of Nina's trial, an ordeal she had bravely gone through for many harrowing days, even when she didn't need to. Every day Nina would be watched by Erica, her deep brown eyes focussed on Nina's face, staring at the woman who had killed her daughter, who had consoled her inside CTU and pretended to be friendly. As Erica opened the door, Alex wondered if she could tell what he was about to say. Greeting each other in Spanish - it being one of the languages Alex spoke fluently - Erica invited him in.

"Is it about her?," Erica asked quietly, her eyes looking at a picture of Jamey that hung on the wall. Nodding, Alex could tell that Erica was already thinking of possibilities.

"This might sound hard to hear, Erica, but there's a threat against the city, and Nina had some information that has helped us greatly in stopping this threat," Alex began, and he was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, but Erica seemed ready to hear what he had to say.

"You know what she's like, and we had to give her something, Erica. We had to pardon her, but she will be in exile far away from the United States and will be monitored closely," Alex continued, and he could tell that Erica was thinking hard about the information. A few minutes of silence began, before Erica replied.

"As long as she isn't free, then I suppose it is a price worth paying, Alex," Erica responded in Spanish.

**7.35pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose**

Kim was sat down next to Miguel, her eyes looking at the clock on the wall every few minutes. She knew that CTU would keep her updated, but the evening was going so slowly for her, just like the day her mother was murdered. Realising that she was about to start thinking of that day, she tried hard to forget it. The year and a half since that day had been horrible, and Kim's relationship with her father had fluctuated wildly. She had been glad that people like Miguel and Alex had been there for her, and it had helped her begin to come to terms with her mother's death. After leaving school early, she had considered herself lucky to find a job looking after Megan. She had suspected Gary Matheson of abusing his family many times, but had never really seen it until today. Now Megan was an orphan, and she hoped that the little girl would be able to move on and have a good life regardless of the days events. Sighing, she took a swig of the coffee that Agent O'Brien had kindly got for her, and took a glance at Miguel, who looked peaceful. She had been going out with him for a few months, and was enjoying his company. The relationship she had with him had even helped her relationship with her father, although they still hadn't talked that much. Telling herself that she would do everything she could to improve her relationship with her father, she put the coffee cup on the bedside table and closed her eyes.

**7.40pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Nina was deep in thought, thinking of her impending exile to North Africa. She had no idea why they had chosen to send her to the Sahara, and could only assume that they had picked the location at random. Even so, she knew that she could find a way out of there, and was already reminding herself of potential friends who would prove useful to her when she did eventually escape. If whoever was going to keep an eye on her in North Africa was anything like CTU agents, she was confident that it wouldn't take long to get out of there. Taking a look at the clock, she realised that quite a few hours had passed since she had been brought back to CTU, and that the plot was a few hours away from either succeeding or failing, and she knew that if they succeeded, she wouldn't live to know about it - CTU was close to the heart of Los Angeles, and everyone in the building would be instantly killed by any nuclear blast. Nina wondered what Jack was up to, and she was also wondering if he would attempt to get to her before they took her away to exile. His whispered threat to her just a few hours before was still fresh in her memory, and she knew that he wasn't kidding, although she doubted that he would be able to get to her in North Africa.

**7.45pm, Carol's house, San Jose**

Carol was now alone in her house, as a CTU agent from San Jose had arrived to take Megan to her aunt's house. She was worried about Kim and Miguel, as well as the threat to Los Angeles, which she had no real idea about - as far as she knew, it was a major threat to the city that needed to be stopped that day. The whole day had reminded her of her sister's last day, and she was hoping that no innocent life would be lost, either because of the threat or because of some infiltrator. Having never met Nina, she had never had any idea what the woman was like, and it was hard to associate the terrorist and murderer Nina Myers with someone she was told about by Alex and Tony in the days after her sister's murder.

**7.50pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex was stood inside the room where Teri had been murdered, and he could almost feel the presence of something inside. Two people had been shot dead by Nina inside the room that night, and after the forensics team had finished with it, the room had been abandoned and stripped of all equipment. Now it was just a dark, empty shell – not that it had ever been much more than that anyway – and it was now just an empty room with slightly faded bloodstains where the technician and Teri had died. The hole where Nina had apparently kept a laptop she had used that night had been filled in, and in pencil someone had written "RIP Teri" on it. The divider which stood close to the door had also been removed, and as Alex looked at the pencilled epitaph he heard the door opening behind him. Turning, he was surprised to see Michelle standing there.

"This is where Jack's wife was killed, isn't it?," Michelle asked, quickly guessing why Alex was stood in an empty room. Nodding, Alex remembered that night, talking to Teri moments before her death, seeing her alive one minute then dead and being embraced by a hugely upset Jack.

"She didn't need to kill her, Michelle. I don't know why she did it, but Teri couldn't have posed a threat to her, surely? Even if she did know where Nina was going to go, what harm could she really have done to Nina?," Alex replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't know, Alex. Noone does except for Nina," Michelle spoke. It had become clear to her quite quickly after beginning work at CTULA that the events of that Tuesday had been both shattering and life-changing for many.

"She never gave any indication of terrorist activity, Michelle. As far as I knew, she was the woman I grew up with, the sister I loved. I keep asking myself if I could have seen this coming years before, but there's nothing. Did she go into terrorism willingly, or was she forced in some way? How long was she involved in terrorism? So many questions that she won't answer, and she keeps causing death," Alex spoke, his eyes locked onto the pencilled message on the wall.

_**19:59:57**_

_**19:59:58**_

_**19:59:59**_

_**20:00:00**_


	13. The Memories That Haunt Us

**20.00pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Tony was busy at his station and busily getting ready for the inevitable time when George Mason would resign, and he would become the Acting Director of CTU. He had been Acting Director a few times over the past eighteen months, at first just after Teri's death for a few weeks until Mason was brought in, and then temporarily – usually for no more than a few hours at a time – when Mason was incapacitated. Michelle would be promoted to Chief of Staff, and Alex would replace her as third in command, and Tony noted the similarity between that set-up and the one that had been in place before Nina's arrest. Of course, Michelle was no Nina Myers, and he was sure that although Alex and Michelle were close, that Alex had no romantic interest in her, unlike himself. Tony was sure that his developing feelings for Michelle were becoming obvious to everyone else, and he realised the risk he was taking, especially after Nina. Noticing Alex and Michelle walking into the main bullpen, he hoped that he would be able to improve CTU and change things for the better. He certainly had no intention of allowing any more moles to carry out their treachery whilst he was Director, and he had a whole list of flaws – something that had come from Division after the investigation of CTU – that as Acting Director he would be charged with fixing.

As Michelle returned to her desk, Alex headed towards the parking lot, and as he walked down the corridor, he remembered that night – running down the darkened passageway even though he was exhausted, shocked at what had happened and hoping that they got there in time. Running into the parking lot and seeing that scene – Jack threatening Nina, a crashed car, blood slipping down Nina's face, a look of anger and bewilderment on Jack's face, and a gun pointed straight at Nina's head. It seemed unreal, as if he had simply fallen asleep at his desk and his subconscious was playing a rather unfunny joke on him, but this was no mental prank, this was reality and Alex found it to be dark, horrific and not at all what he had moved to Los Angeles for.

Mason was in his office, looking down at the activity of the bullpen. He knew that he had little time left, and although he had no desire to die so young, he was in so much pain that he knew he would welcome his untimely death when it came, but he was determined not to spend his last hours or minutes in a hospital bed. Even if he collapsed and died in his office, he wanted to stay and do his part to stop the nuke, and he knew that they had only a few hours left. Picking up his phone, he dialled a number and waited for it to ring.

"Hello, Sarah? It's George," Mason spoke as his ex-wife replied. He hadn't spoken to her in so many years, and to hear her voice again, to be in contact with the woman he had loved so passionately, was a relief to him in his final few hours.

"George? John called me a few hours ago..is it true? Are you dying?," Sarah asked, her soft voice cracking. Even though their marriage had ended a long time ago, and even though there was still some mild animosity, a mutual respect still existed, and if the pair were to be truly honest, there was still love between them.

"Yeah, it is. I don't think I'll make it through the night, so I wanted to call you while you were still awake, whilst I still could. I've had to come to terms with this so quickly, Sarah. I want you to know that I regret the fact that our marriage didn't work out, and that in many ways I still love you," George spoke, his voice now cracking slightly, but at this point he couldn't care less. It wasn't like anyone else was around, and it wasn't like he had the many decades left that others his age could look forward to. No, he had less than a day left and right now, he wanted to set things right whilst he still could.

"I'm so sorry, George. You know, I'm going to miss you so much, and I'll never forget you," Sarah spoke, and George could tell that she was crying. Not hysterically – that wasn't Sarah's style – but a silent, composed cry. He had always loved just how strong she could be emotionally, no matter what.

"Miss me but don't mourn, Sarah. You should go live your life," George spoke quietly, his eyes watering, tears falling onto the desk.

**20.20pm, Matheson house, Los Angeles**

Kim had asked Alex to get her things from the Matheson house, not willing to go anywhere near the place again, and as he opened the front door, he looked around. It was a rather posh house, typical of the middle-class suburb that the Matheson house was located in, and Alex wondered if Gary Matheson fit the profile of a typical wife beater – a perfectionist, someone who needed everything to be just right. The furniture was positioned in such a way and the lack of any sign of the house being actually lived in made Alex sure that Matheson had controlled the house, and his family, with an iron grip. Climbing the stairs, he could only imagine the underlying tension in the house, and although he was sorry that Carla was dead, he was glad that Megan at least would escape such an unhealthy and abusive environment. Luckily, Carla had a sister and Megan's aunt had already arranged to pick her up from Kim's aunt as soon as she could. Noticing movement in what had been Kim's bedroom, Alex took out his gun and slowly moved towards the door. Listening to ascertain where in the room the movement was coming from. Concluding that the movement was on the other side of the room, he moved quickly into the room with his gun ready. Sighing with relief as he realised it was just a curtain next to an open window, he walked over to close the window. Grabbing a couple of suitcases, he began piling stuff inside. Emptying a drawer of what appeared to be mostly pictures, he noticed one in particular. It showed Kim with her parents and was probably a few years old, and the trio looked happy. No stress, no anger or hate, and certainly no untimely deaths to grieve over. Looking at the photograph for a few minutes, Alex realised that what he knew of Jack and Kim was not much – he mainly knew Jack through Nina's eyes, and his own after he had joined CTU Los Angeles. He had heard nothing about Kim from Nina, but he had grown to see as a young woman who was sometimes immature, but who had a streak of resilience and strength running through her, and Alex noticed, in the few hours that he had known her, that Teri was similar. Placing the photographs carefully into the suitcase, he tried to focus on the day's events and not on the past.

**20.30pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose**

"Hmm, he seems to be making good progress. In fact, he might even wake up any minute now," the nurse spoke to Kim as he checked Miguel. He had been in a much more stable condition over the past hour, and he seemed to be improving. Thanking the nurse as he left the room, Kim noticed the time and wondered how the day would end. Would she have seen her father and everyone else in LA for the last time, or would she be able to return there as soon as she could? She hoped that no news really did mean good news. It upset her that this was even happening because it only opened old mental wounds from that day her mother died. Back then CTU had been in the middle of everything as well, and back then it seemed as if the day would never end. Even though it had only been around ten hours since she had first heard of the threat, it felt like ten days or weeks to her.

**20.35pm, CTU Los Angeles**

A kindly – and probably oblivious – technician had brought Nina a cup of coffee, and as she sipped on the hot beverage she glanced at the clock. If the plan failed, she would be on a plane in hours. If it succeeded, nothing would matter anyway. She knew none of the specifics of the plan, but she did know exactly what the consequences would be. Millions dead and dying, a whole region of California virtually destroyed, billions of dollars worth of damage, and the eternal damnation of everyone who helped the plan succeed in the eyes of the American people. Hearing someone outside the door, she gazed in that direction, and as Mason walked in, she could instantly tell that something was wrong with him.

"Not looking too good there, George," Nina remarked as the agent walked up to the table. He was about to reply, before he began coughing violently. Nina, although not really concerned about George at all, allowed a sympathetic look to show, before snapping back to an indifferent one as George recovered.

"It's nothing, Nina. I just wanted to let you know something," Mason replied, before he became pensive. Nina looked at him and tried to work out what this something was. She was tempted to ask, but decided to let George think uninterrupted.

"If you survive this, and you go into exile but escape, you know I won't hesitate in letting Jack off of his leash. I won't be able to stop him coming after you, so keep that in mind would you?," George informed her, and Nina looked at him curiously. Was he just warning her, or was he actually concerned about her well-being? He had certainly rushed into the room quickly enough earlier in the day when Jack had lost his temper and was strangling her, but then he did let Jack back in afterwards. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to have no problem with letting Jack escort her to Visalia. Even so, Nina couldn't help but consider the possibility that George's not so secret crush he had on her a few years before was at least one of the factors driving this supposed show of concern.

"Let's say I do escape, George. I could be halfway around the world before Jack finds out, and we both know that. CTU has it's flaws, and we know that I've always been quite keen to exploit them," Nina spoke. She knew that she was basically admitting that she would attempt to escape, but that was a given with her. Plus, they couldn't do anything about it anyway, due to the pardon. George looked at her unsurprised. He could only guess at how long it would take for Nina to escape, but he was happy to see that Nina had no idea that he was dying, and that he truly wouldn't be able to stop Jack anyway. She didn't need to know of his death, but George knew that she was likely to hear of it sometime – whether it was on the plane to North Africa or years in the future, Nina would eventually find out if she wanted to. George knew that when Nina had been a CTU agent, she had been one of the best. Yes, the relationship she had with Jack both annoyed and worried him, but CTU benefited greatly from her skills and intelligence. On the night of her arrest, it did not sink in that Nina had been working for the Drazens for hours, simply because he could not comprehend the fact that Nina Myers would even consider working for a terrorist.

"CTU has changed since you left, Nina. We still have some of the flaws that you exploited, and I'm sure that we have some new ones, but we've moved on. I can't stop Jack coming after you, Nina, but what about you? Will you keep away from Jack?," George asked, and a smirk grew on Nina's face. The concern that George seemed to have for Jack amused her – it was so different to how George had once seen Jack, and now that she wasn't working at CTU any more she could tell that things were different between the two men.

"I'm not interested in hunting Jack down, George. If he comes after me, I will defend myself, but I'm not going to waste time or resources on Jack Bauer if I don't have to," Nina responded firmly She had no interest in killing Jack as long as he kept away from her. Now, if he did come after her, she would gladly get rid of him once and for all, but she reasoned that Jack was not worth risking going back to jail or dying.

**20.50pm, ****O'Connor Hospital, San Jose**

As Miguel woke from his coma, he mumbled quietly, and as his blurry eyesight returned to normal, he noticed a concerned Kim gazing at him, and a broad smile grew on his face.

"Hey, Kim. Are you and everyone OK?," Miguel asked as Kim took his hand in hers and readied herself to tell him about his leg.

"Yes, I'm OK and so is everyone else," Kim replied, and she could feel tears forming in her eyes. Whether it was because of what she had to tell him, or because she was happy to see him awake, or both or even neither, she didn't know. Miguel was glad to hear her voice again, but he remembered the reason they had fled Los Angeles and it showed on his face.

"The bomb, Kim? Did they stop the bomb?," Miguel asked, his voice slightly panicked, and Kim shook her head.

"No, but they're working on it, and they'll stop it. I know they will," Kim assured him, and she wondered how she was going to break the news to him.

"Miguel, I've got some bad news, and I really couldn't work out how I should say this, but I think it's kind of inevitable that you would find out anyway," Kim began, before wiping away a tear from her eye. Miguel, concerned, tried to sit up and noticed the lack of a bump in the sheet where his leg should have been.

"My leg? They..took my leg? Why?," Miguel asked, as he pulled away the sheets to reveal the bloodstained bandage around the remains of his knee. Gasping in shock, he grabbed at the stump, hoping to find the rest of his leg, but Kim gently pushed at his shoulder to make him relax.

"They had to, Miguel, or you would have died. I'm so sorry," Kim replied, and she embraced Miguel. His life had changed forever, but he knew that no one was ultimately to blame for the loss of his leg, and that Kim's apology was unnecessary. However, he was already feeling the early signs of depression.

"It's OK, Kim. It's OK," Miguel whispered.

_**20:59:57**_

_**20:59:58**_

_**20:59:59**_

_**21:00:00**_


	14. The Ties That Bind Us

**21.00pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex had just dropped off Kim's belongings at her aunt Marilyn's house, and was now walking back into CTU. Taking a glance up at Mason's office, he saw that George looked even worse, and he could only guess at how long it would be before Mason could no longer remain at CTU. The building was still a mess, but now that it had been some hours since the bombing, the place took on an almost serene feel, as if the chaos of the explosions had finally settled down after crackling through the air for much of the day. Walking past an empty desk, a phone rang on top of it, and Alex decided to answer.

"CTU, Myers," Alex said, and he could hear a lot of activity in the background, including a voice he was sure was Jack's.

"Hello, my name is Kate Warner. I was wondering if I could speak to my father?," Kate replied, referring to Bob Warner, who had been held in custody at CTU for some hours.

"Sure, I'll go give him this phone," Alex answered, walking towards the holding rooms. He wondered if Kate had been inside CTU today, and if she had seen the destruction. Her voice was tired, with a slight hint of an Australian accent, as if she spoke with a Mid-Pacific accent. After asking a security guard which room Warner was in, he knocked on the door before entering. Bob was deep in thought, and only noticed Alex when he closed the door.

"Your daughter Kate wants to speak to you," Alex informed him, before passing him the phone. Deciding to wait outside to give Bob some privacy, he walked towards the door. Leaning against the wall nearby, he looked directly at the door opposite – the room that Nina was being held in – but tried to take his mind off of her, and looked up and down the corridor, but gave in and walked towards the door. Placing his hand on the handle, he realised that he didn't really know what he was even going to say to her. Taking his hand off of the handle, he turned around and walked into Warner's room to collect the phone. Inside, Warner had finished the call, and was looking down at the table. Quietly picking up the phone, Alex debated with himself whether or not to ask if Bob was OK, before Warner looked up at him.

"Are you OK, Mr Warner?," Alex asked, and in reply Bob shrugged. Alex could tell that he must have gotten some bad news from his daughter.

"My daughter Marie, she's involved in this whole plot. She's been working with these terrorists who want to destroy an entire city, and yet today she acted like my daughter, like a young woman about to get married. How? How did she manage to keep up the façade all day?," Bob asked, and Alex immediately saw the parallels. He could see himself in Bob's position, in Kate's position.

"She's your daughter, you can't blame yourself for not seeing her as anything other than your child," Alex replied. Even though he felt guilt for what Nina had done, he had managed to move on enough to know that the guilt was not because he had committed any crime, but because he felt that he should have been able to see past the familiarity of his sister.

**21.10pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose**

Miguel had fallen back asleep, and as Kim sat down next to the bed she felt like time was going far too slow. Each minute seemed like an hour, each hour seemed like a day, and she was beginning to expect dreadful news at any moment. Sighing, she gave Miguel a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, OK?," she whispered, before quietly walking out of the room and down the corridor towards the stairs. Pulling out her cell, she entered the stairwell and dialled Alex's CTU extension. The rings came slowly, and it seemed like the phone would never be answered, until she heard Alex's voice through the phone.

"Alex, it's me. I need to know something about what's going on," Kim asked, careful not to speak too loudly, and careful to look out for anyone who might be nearby.

"There's not much I can say, Kim. We're still looking for the bomb, but we have some leads and I'm sure this will be all over soon. How are you and Miguel doing?," Alex asked, eager to avoid talking about a nuke that would extinguish his life in a second if it went off.

"I'm coping I suppose, but Miguel..they had to amputate his leg, it couldn't be saved," Kim replied, her voice breaking slightly. Sighing, Alex felt sorry for Miguel, and realised that it was yet another day where innocents were getting injured as an indirect result of the threat facing CTU and Los Angeles.

"I'm sorry, Kim. Look, as soon as we stop this nuke I'll call you, OK? Is your aunt going to pick you up at the hospital soon?," Alex asked.

"Yeah, although I would rather not leave Miguel alone. I better go back to the room, I'll talk to you when you call, OK?," Kim replied.

**21.15pm, Holding Room, CTU Los Angeles**

Alone in the room and brushing up on her Arabic, Nina had her eyes closed, blocking out what little light there was in the room. She occasionally opened her eyes to check the clock – although CTU probably wouldn't believe her, she really didn't know when the bomb was supposed to go off, and she had never been a part of the plot, instead her role was indirect, helping create a diversion to help the terrorist cell. For her, the day had been turbulent, but eventually rewarding as it meant getting out of jail. Exile in North Africa would not last long, and she knew that her contacts would already know of the planned flight to Tunisia. Breathing in deeply, she opened her eyes and sighed. This was not the way things were meant to have gone – she was meant to still be in a high and powerful position within CTU. It had been a far more comfortable role to play than the ones she knew awaited her when she resumed her career in terrorism. She would have to start at the bottom, a powerless pawn sent to do the dirtier jobs. It wasn't that she couldn't, or wouldn't, do such jobs, but she knew it would be a long time before she would have power like she had before her arrest. She had considered plastic surgery to change her looks and allow herself to get a sleeper agent job again, but she considered it too risky. Taking another glance at the clock, she realised that she was in a much better position than she had been a mere ten hours before. As the door opened slowly, Nina couldn't help but mentally roll her eyes – she was feeling like an exhibit at the moment, with people coming in and out over the past few hours.

As George sat down opposite Nina, he was barely able to look at her, because if he did she would see that he was close to death, but it didn't matter anyway. Slowly, he lifted his head up to look at her, and he was sure he could see her look sympathetically at him, even for just a second.

"Maybe I wasn't all that truthful earlier, Nina. I..I'm dying, Nina, and it's going to happen soon," Mason spoke as he looked straight into her eyes.

"What's killing you, George?," Nina asked, and she surprised the both of them with her voice, in a far gentler tone than they had heard from her mouth in a long time.

"I've been exposed to the nuke, Nina. In a few minutes I'm going to hand over control to Tony, and I'm going to walk out of here for the last time. I wasn't going to tell you at first, and I really didn't want to come in here again, but I wanted to know, Nina, and I want you to tell me what I want to hear," Mason spoke, his voice quiet but firm. He coughed a few times, his hand tight against his mouth, and continued.

"I want to know why, Nina. Why did you turn against your friends, your country? Why did you work with terrorists and mass murderers?," he finished, and Nina realised that she needed to give him something, a little closure. After all, he was close to death, and it wouldn't be a shock to see him collapse and die right where he was, given his current state. Thinking over her answer for a few minutes, she replied.

"There are too many different reasons for me to explain, George, but I'm like a contradiction – I have a great desire to survive, and a great desire for excitement, for risks. I can't just be the patriotic, hard working federal agent that everyone thought I was, and I can't just languish in jail for the rest of my life," Nina said, and George nodded slowly. It wasn't much, but it would do. It was, after all, more truth than he had ever heard from her, and as his last few hours were ticking away, he knew that he couldn't stay there much longer. Standing up slowly, he moved away from the table and looked at Nina.

"Goodbye, Nina," he remarked, before turning around and, as he walked out of the door, he was sure he heard Nina say a quiet farewell to him.

Walking into the main bullpen, he looked around at the agents busily working to stop the plot, and a slight smile grew on his face. Sure, his life was coming to an early and disappointing end, but at least he could die knowing that there were many good agents within CTU. Approaching Tony, he knew that his time as a CTU agent was over.

"Tony, I think you're going to have to take over, I'm not feeling great. Look, here's the access codes and everything. When this is all over, can you tell everyone what a pleasure it was to work with them, and how great they've done their jobs today," George spoke, and he was sure he was about to start crying, whilst Tony looked at him with confusion.

"George, only Chappelle can promote anyone," Tony replied, but Mason shook his head.

"Just talked to him, Tony. You're the new director, congratulations. You know, what I said this morning about wanting to get out of this place – well, I don't feel like that any more," George chuckled, before turning around and walking towards the main entrance. Stopping, he turned around and looked back at Tony, who was still coming to terms with his sudden promotion.

"Goodbye, Tony. I know you'll do great, I know everyone will," George spoke, before continuing on his way out of the building for the last time in his life. As he walked away, Alex watched him sadly. Although his first impressions of George Mason had been rather negative, Mason was rather different to that original idea of himself, and now he was leaving forever and as he disappeared into the corridor that led to the underground parking lot, Alex looked at his computer monitor sadly, before looking back up at Tony, who was deep in conversation with Michelle. He was happy for Tony, and knew that Tony would do a great job, but it was certainly a baptism of fire for the newly promoted Director, and Alex wondered if Tony would continue as Director after the threat was over.

"Can I have everyone's attention for a few minutes, please?," Tony called out, and he waited as everyone become quiet and looked towards him. Taking a deep breath, he began his announcement.

"I know many of you will not have heard, but this morning George Mason was exposed to a lethal dose of plutonium, and I'm afraid that he doesn't have a lot of time left. In fact, he just left CTU for the last time. For the time being, I'm in charge here, and I want everyone to continue working hard. On a normal day we would have been mourning George, just like we would have been mourning Paula and the other agents we lost today, but today is no normal day, and we need to leave the mourning until the threat is stopped. That's all I really wanted to say, so let's get back to work and stop this nuke," Tony spoke, his voice loud and clear. He saw the faces of upset agents, and realised that he had a massive task ahead of him. As much as he wanted to mourn those who had been lost, he knew that noone could do anything other than fight the current crisis until it was all over.

As the agents returned to work, Alex wiped a single tear from his eye. He would mourn George and Paula and all of the agents who lost their lives, and it was for their sake as much as it was for the sake of the people of Los Angeles that they needed to stop the nuke.

**21.35pm, O'Connor Hospital, San Jose**

"Kim?," Carol spoke quietly as she walked into Miguel's room. She immediately noticed that Miguel was missing a leg and decided not to mention it.

"He's going to be OK. The doctors said he'll probably sleep for hours," Kim spoke as she stood up, before kissing Miguel gently on the cheek. Walking out of the door with her aunt, she saw the CTU agent, Eric O'Brien, sitting on a chair nearby.

"I'm leaving now, Agent O'Brien. I appreciate you staying here with me," Kim spoke, and Eric nodded.

"OK, goodnight. I'll be heading back to CTU soon," Eric replied, and as Kim and Carol walked down the corridor, Kim couldn't help but think how close it was to midnight, how close they were to seeing Los Angeles destroyed by a nuke. Trying to take the nuke out of her mind, her thoughts turned to the little girl she had been looking after.

"Where's Megan?,"Kim asked. Now that both Megan's parents were dead, Kim had no idea who would look after the girl now.

"Her mother's sister picked her up about an hour ago. Don't worry, they live well away from Los Angeles, and I made sure the woman really was who she claimed to be," Carol replied.

"As long as she's safe, I'm happy. I feel so sorry for her, I just hope she can grow into a healthy adult regardless of today's events," Kim commented.

**21.40pm, CTU Los Angeles**

Alex checked the time, and sighed deeply. Although he wouldn't admit to it, he was frightened of the possibility of the nuke going off, and he had tried not to think of the worse possible outcome, telling himself that even if it did go off, CTU was inside the ground zero of the blast anyway, immediately killing them without them ever knowing what hit them. Noticing a short message from Tony popping up on his screen, informing him of his promotion to third in command – something he now held far more permanently than he had done in the previous times he had been third in command, when he had the position for no more than a few hours at a time – he wondered if he would be in such a position if the events of the day, as well as the events of eighteen months ago when Nina was arrested, had never happened or had not happened in the way they had. Sending a quick but polite reply to Tony to confirm that he had received the message, followed by another glance at the time, his attention turned to Chappelle walking into CTU, before disappearing down the corridor where the holding rooms were located, presumably to visit Nina one last time before she was exiled. Whilst she had spent most of the last year and a half in jail, she had also spent some time at Division, being interrogated and even tortured in the hope that she would give them some information, but she had resisted strongly and they hadn't got even a syllable out of her. Even at her trial she said little, and what she did say was the basic dialogue expected of the defendant. Suddenly a thought popped into his head and he grabbed his phone. He was about to dial a number, and wondered if the call he was about to make was the right thing to do. Would it really help in the long term, or would it cause someone to spend their last few hours panicking? Deciding that it didn't hurt to try, he dialled her number and, when she replied, spoke in Spanish quietly.

"Erica? It's Alex," Alex began, and he took note of the time. It was almost ten, and the nuke was potentially going to go off in the next two hours, so he decided not to mention any specifics.

"Alex? Is everything OK?," Erica asked, and Alex noticed the calmness of her voice.

"Yeah, everything's OK. It's just – I think maybe you should start making your way out of the city as soon as you can. I don't want to scare you, and I don't think anything's going to happen, but something might do before midnight. Is Kyle there with you still?," Alex spoke. When he had visited earlier, Kyle had been busy playing some game on his computer, but Alex had no idea whether he actually lived with his grandmother or not.

"Yes, he's asleep, but I wouldn't worry, Alex. I've got faith that you and CTU will stop whatever might happen," Erica replied, and Alex reluctantly accepted in his mind that the determination in her voice was real, and that no amount of convincing would work.

"Alright, Erica. I'll call you in the morning, OK? Bye," Alex replied, and hung up, only to notice a not very impressed Tony stood next to him.

"Jamey's mother, right?," Tony asked, and Alex nodded. Sighing, Tony looked over at the huge monitors that covered a large amount of one wall, before looking back at Alex.

"I'll overlook this, Alex, but we can't have mass panic. I understand why you called her, and I will admit to thinking of it myself, but we're going to defeat this threat, OK?," Tony continued.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks for the overlook, Tony," Alex replied.

**21.59pm, Norton Airfield, Los Angeles**

Jack was stunned at the news. Shaking his head slightly, he looked up at the sky before looking back at the technician.

"Are you sure?," he asked, and the technician nodded.

"Really sure. This thing could go off any minute."

_**21:59:57**_

_**21:59:58**_

_**21:59:59**_

_**22:00:00**_


End file.
